Japan loves Apple, sales up there 39%

Japanese are all the same. And generalities all apply. I know why Apple is making more money. But I won't be telling you.

its simple Japan is all about labels and Apple is the Dolce and Gabana of computers and Mp3 players

Here's the saga of a buddy of mine who tried to flog a Lenovo Tablet running Vista into supporting Japanese input:
http://opensourcetogo.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-hopefully-no-longer-ongoing-vista.html

Expensive, a big waste of time and about as much fun as being strapped into a dentist's chair and having your teeth drilled without novocaine. Especially when it all went pear-shaped after a Windows update and he had to do it all again.

"What? Macs do Japanese right out of the box? You don't have to plunk down 22 thousand yen more to get that? Whoa..."

Actually, Lefty knows that. Why he hasn't gone for a ModBook yet is beyond me.

Apple's Japanese pricing is about 10-15% higher than the US. Though Apple is percieved as expensive, and the Japanese are often surprised when I show them the prices which have come down in the past year.

Marketing (tv) has been successful as have been the stores in Ginza and Shinsaibashi which have generated awareness and "cool" factor.

I think it has less to do with price and more with marketing. Apple has successfully marketed itself as a cool brand here and from what I see every day around Tokyo, Japanese people love to be fashionable. Especially when that fashion has a brand attached. One of my friends switched this year just for image's sake (and complains that he still uses Windows on it 90% of the time). Sorry to say that my wife, who's also Japanese, still refuses to touch any device that isn't a Sony.

I'm skeptical of the factors above: my inclination would be that it's tied to the exchange rate.

The Yen is much better against the dollar this year than it has been in the past 3-4 years, maybe Apple has finally updated it prices to reflect this?

A few elements

* Object fetichism in Japan. Many people bought the iphone but it is not used. Not visible _at all_ in the streets and trains.

* Group effects. It is good to be like others, if there is enough of one product out there it becomes something to buy. It works reverse. Apple had hard time because it was an element of individuality, when products here work better when they are element of group identification.

* In the last few years, Apple opened 2 Apple stores: Ginza and Shibuya.

* About the japanese input method. It is not the best one available here on other products. But people install other input method. Foreigners think that it is a good one.

* Internationalization: … indeed the mac has supports for many fonts and that can help.

* lack of success of the iphone. 1) too big for people used to use only one hand for their keitai. 2) no tactile feedback aka no keyboard, many people do not look at their keyboard when they type. on the iphone you have to look at the screen. 3) lack of japanese emoticons (emojis). should be solved in the next firmware. 4) handsets are being a take-away product. Each vendor has a complete new line every 3 months. They follow the fashion trends or create them. The iphone is one single object which doesn't change. 5) there is no hook on the iphone to put their usual keitai charm.

iPod halo effect and disappointment with Vista are the big reasons for this increase. However, Sony does still pwn Apple in Japan.

Japanese don't run into language issues if they use their computers domestically. It is the foreign population that switches to Mac over language issues in my experience.

Percentages are misleading.

Sales went from 302k to 389k.

Sony still owns Apple in Japan.

I agree with previous comments, but also believe that the Japanese tendency toward being early adaptors of electronic devices plays a role. The typical Japanese lives in a much smaller home than his American counterpart, is less likely to own an automobile, is less prone to obsoleting clothing because of changes in styling and spends a higher percentage of his income on electronics purchases. I saw many new electronic ideas in Japan (including cell phones, digital watches, high definition TV and picture-in-picture video displays) in Japan before they became common in the U,S, or Europe. It is no surprise that Apple's technical superiority and commitment to innovation would appeal to the tech-smart Japanese consumer.