Vending machines and Japan

Cherry blossom, anime, manga and sushi may seem associated with Japan, but food vending machines has earned an important place in the Japanese lifestyle and could be a symbol for the culture where people are comfortable with automation and is usually on the cutting edge, developing evolved high-tech machines and has built its reputation for innovation. these vending machines provide products such as hot and cold drinks, main course meals, salads, flowers, vegetables etc. A journalist Tsutomu Washizu who wrote a book on the history of vending machines in Japan claimed that Japanese culture is also so much fascinated by the automation and robots as he ascribed it to be the main reason of popularity of vending machines to The Japan Times in 2007.

“There is no other country that has so much automation. The Japanese people have high regards and trust in, automated systems,” Washizu said.

As Japan is densely populated where over 93% of the population live in cities, according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association, there were 3,648,600 vending machines across the country at the end of 2016 notes that there is roughly one vending machine for every 35 citizens. With the increasing property prices, it is much convenient and cheaper for the retailer to slot few vending machines in the area rather than paying to rent the store. Another factor which adds up to the slotting of vending machines is that wages of labour in Japan are extremely high as well because despite the contract claiming the 8-hour work day, it is common for employees to work 12+ hours a day so, buying food from vending machines provides more convenience. According to Japan National Tourism Organisation, it has been noted that the country has a low crime against vandalizing of the vending machines, even if it happens the cases are very rare. These machines are protected through inbuilt cameras which are directly connected to various police stations. This helps in maintaining the faith of the retailers in vending machine business.

So, the accumulation of the reasons- increasing property prices- scarcity of land, the low crime rate of loot, higher labour wages and convenience to buy ready to eat food contributing to why vending machine culture is flourishing.

This vending machine culture shows no sign of being out of date moreover it is expected to more automated and more user-friendly. Not just because it delivers food or drinks conveniently, politeness is an essential characteristic of Japanese culture as these machines say ‘thankyou’ once your order has been delivered.

The hyper-customisation to appear via Google and Amazon by the year 2020 already exists in Japan. This vending machine is enabled to recognise the customer’s face and decides for them as it already knows your favourite drink and chocolate bars.

Recently, the drink company Dydo Drinco has started introducing vending machines that are more interactive which are enabled to talk to the customers via games and they earn prizes and collect points adds more to the fun engaging factor between consumer and machine.