FutureBrand, a US company known for its annual Country Brand Index Report, has named Japan as the strongest national brand in the world in 2014 according to an article gathering attention on internet portal Ameba News.
Netizens were pleased at Japan’s excellent international reputation for high-quality products, but could not resist a dig at their East Asian neighbors, who failed to make the top ten…
From Ameba News:
Nation Brand Values, Japan Takes No.1 In World For First Time…Image Of “Advanced Technology”
US company FutureBrand announced rankings that evaluated the brand power of countries. Japan ranked at No.1, with Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and Canada following. What was associated with “Japan” were things like “advanced technology” and “heritage/history/culture”.
FutureBrand carried out an evaluation of the brand power of 75 nations. They assumed that a nation’s brand is influenced by consumer actions, just as in a business brand, and published the top twenty brands with the highest evaluations.
What respondents associated with “Japan”, which took the number one spot in the evaluations of country brands, was “advanced technology”, “medicine/education”, “heritage/art/culture” and so on. The image that most people had of “Made in Japan”, which demonstrates a nation’s brand power, was that “it supplied high quality products”, and over 60% of respondents answered that they wanted to buy products made in Japan.
Brands that were associated with Japan included Nintendo, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Hitachi, Toyota Motors, and the Honda Motor Company. Asked which areas Japan specialized in, 78% answered “technology”, followed by “home appliances (65%)”, and “cars (59%)”.
The things that people associated with Switzerland, which ranked at no.2, were valued as “beauty” “cleanliness” and “safety”, a high standard of living, and a high-level infrastructure. The areas most associated with the country’s specialization by respondents were “luxury goods” and “financial services”, as well as watch brands such as Rolex, Tag Heuer, Patek Philippe, Tissot, and Swatch.
Particularly interesting was Germany which ranked at no.3, and which had a lot of similar points to Japan in terms of its brand value. The image of “made in Germany” for around 70% of respondents was that the country “supplied high quality products”, and like Japan, around 60% of respondents said that they want to buy products made in Germany.
Furthermore, of the fields in which Germany specialized, the top answer with 77% of respondents was “cars”, while 58% replied “technology”. The commercial brands that respondents associated with Germany were mostly car brands as in the case of Japan, including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen.
◆ Country Brand Rankings 2014- 2015
No.1: Japan
No.2: Switzerland
No.3: Germany
No.4: Sweden
No.5: Canada
No.6: Norway
No.7: US
No.8: Australia
No.9: Denmark
No.10: Austria
Comments from Ameba News:
のっぽさん:
Brand image is really important. It seems that just by saying something is made in Japan you can inflate its value. We mustn’t forget the results of the efforts of our predecessors, that now Japan is conquering the globe and people are asking to buy Japanese products by name. And I think that it is the mission of the current generation to inherit this and carry it on. And it was really interesting that the three Northern European countries I like also ranked in the top ten.
チカさん:
Uh-huh. Olympus, Omron and Kenzmedico are also all well known and have a high approval rating.
That’s because when people say something’s made in Japan they feel that it’s safe and reliable. They’re frightened of things made in Korea and China and won’t buy them.
じったさん:
The brand power that Japan is so proud of comes from the efforts of small to medium businesses (factories) and the pride of workers which means that better products get made. I don’t suppose other ethnicities can emulate this.
新宿会計士さん:
I’m not particularly happy that Japan has ranked in the top ten. The reason for this is that the criteria for selection are way too ambiguous. What’s more, it’s not like we’re all living day to day thinking “Oh we really want to be praised by the rest of the world”. For Japanese people living properly is just very important.
抹茶さん:
Foreigners should buy high-quality Japanese products at higher prices for Japan’s economic recovery. We’re behind the times if we think that we will compete with cheap products that could be made anywhere. Japan has so much potential.
toyさん:
The level of the Japanese and German peoples is completely different from those Toku-A peoples [ie people from Asian countries that are perceived as “anti-Japanese”].
えいいちさん:
This is all because there are a lot of people who throw themselves into their work with all they have. It’s a natural outcome.
hiroさん:
I wonder why the UK, France and Italy weren’t included in this…
つばささん:
I love Toshiba!!! In particular I like their washing machines and refrigerators ヽ(*´▽`*)ノ
うるふっち ♂さん:
You see videos all the time about how Stupid Korea still mistakes itself as having one up on Japan, even when this kind of data is released. Guess they just can’t accept reality…they just can’t admit how excellent Japan is, they’re a really pathetic people, I think. In Fukuoka, where I live, they were saying on the news that yet another low-cost airline is flying to Korea, but it’s really a pain in the ass. Idiot Japanese people should go to Korea and never come back. And those fucking Korean thieves better never come near Fukuoka or Japan.
むむさん:
Phew, I was pretty fucking relieved that those jerk-offs China and Korea weren’t included in this.
ナツメグさん:
Japanese products are high quality.
尚＠りうさん:
People always said that “Good things are made in Japan”. But I still think that North European furniture, and German cars are really something, as well as their metalwork.
妙（みょみょみょ）さん:
In the comments on this article it’s all Chinese and Koreans. The level of those people is different to people in Japan.
フランクさん:
Japan has amazingly clever techniques..it would be great if this carries on.
