--- title: Global Kigyo - TIME - Partner Content - The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success description: The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success canonical: https://time.com/branded-content/global-kigyo/the-products-powering-japans-economic-success/ article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-10-05T10:38:04.362Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T10:37:45.815Z article:section: Paid Partner Content og:title: Global Kigyo - TIME - Partner Content - The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success og:description: The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success og:url: https://time.com/branded-content/global-kigyo/the-products-powering-japans-economic-success/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67ca9814df3426f8/6ac37ae053c5f5d48dbfd66e/MIKI_HOUSE_1200-800.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Global Kigyo - TIME - Partner Content - The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success twitter:description: The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67ca9814df3426f8/6ac37ae053c5f5d48dbfd66e/MIKI_HOUSE_1200-800.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=3614485a-91b3-46e4-b9af-f7d87c033738&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=3614485a-91b3-46e4-b9af-f7d87c033738&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1)  Japan’s growth can be measured in the sales, exports and gross domestic product (GDP) that makes it one of the world’s largest economies. However, at the heart of the country’s business success you will also find a range of small and medium-size (SME) companies specializing in diverse products that keep the tills ringing and the cash flowing. Ranging from food staples to skiing equipment, toys and jewelry, these items have been driving sales and winning customers. Now the leaders of those firms explain how. **Miki Shoko Co., Ltd.** Miki Shoko, operator of the Japanese baby and children’s brand MIKI HOUSE, offers a wide range of high-quality children’s clothing and shoes. CHIECO SAKU, one of the brands launched by MIKI HOUSE, has also been enjoying great success, according to president Yoshikatsu Takeda.  Image credit: Miki Shoko Co., Ltd. **Sokan Co., Ltd.** Wakame seaweed is an essential product for food business Sokan due its benefits for both consumers and the environment. The company hopes to build on its exports to China by expanding global targets. “Seaweed, wakame in particular, is very healthy, containing a wide range of nutrients, and because it absorbs CO2 where it grows, it's considered part of the blue carbon ecosystem,” said president Kenichi Itayama. “As part of our broader goal of spreading smiles around the world, the U.S. and Southeast Asia are also important target markets for us.”  Image credit: Sokan Co., Ltd. **Hoyu Co., Ltd.** A treatment designed to prevent gray hair named Yerba santa is a signature product for beauty and wellness firm Hoyu president Yoshihiro Sasaki aims to build on this by expanding international sales to new markets. “Yerba santa comes in many varieties. We identified a specific component that has been shown to be effective against gray hair,” said Sasaki. “We’ve positioned growth in overseas markets as a top priority, with particular focus on home hair color products. We believe the potential of overseas markets far exceeds that of Japan. China is our top-priority target, followed by the U.S. and then the Middle East.” **Sinano Co., Ltd.** Ski poles are a core product for manufacturing business Sinano according to president Mitsuhiro Yanagisawa. The firm has diversified into different pole and stick ranges, and is also expanding its sales strategies. “Our strategy prioritizes two channels: a direct-to-consumer model, and exports to Southeast Asia. We also have several new R&D projects ongoing related to digital technologies. While it is difficult to say now how these will play out, we hope that this project will become more prominent in the next two years,” said Yanagisawa. “One immediate challenge will be to open more retail stores nationwide, helping us to better connect with customers on a more personal level.”  Image credit: Sinano Co., Ltd. **Farmind Corporation** Selling bananas has long been the cornerstone of Farmind Corporation’s fruit business. “We focused on building a stable nationwide supply chain so that consumers could enjoy fresh, high-quality bananas on supermarket shelves throughout Japan, wherever they live,” said president Itaru Kobayashi. “If we focus only on the Japanese market, there are limits to future growth. That is one of the reasons we have an affiliated company in China and conduct business there. We are always open to expanding further across Asia.”  Image credit: Farmind Corporation **Imayo & Co. Ltd.** Laboratory-grown diamonds are a growing success story for jewelry company Imayo & Co., as customers are drawn to their price and sustainability. “We have worked on B2C channels but the majority of sales come from the B2B business. In Ginza, Tokyo, we see a growing interest from overseas tourists in our brand SHINCA, which is our laboratory-grown diamond brand,” said president and CEO Nobutaka Imanishi. “For the last few years, we have been working on penetrating the U.S. market, and we have learned a lot from that process, seeing how important marketing really is.” **K.uno** Personalized and pop culture character-branded items are currently selling well for jewelry firm K.uno, according to president Koichi Aoki. " ’Oshi-katsu × custom-made’ caters to people who want to wear their favorite character every day,” said Aoki. “Consumers overseas tend to place even more value on individuality than consumers in Japan, so we want to build a model that can support custom orders remotely, even with a small number of physical stores. Over the next five years, we want to grow our overseas sales to three times their current level.” **SK Japan Co. Ltd.** Hironori Yao, president of toy firm SK Japan, reported that The Thoroughbred Collection range of characters, based on racehorses, is increasingly popular with customers. The firm aims to replicate this success on the global front. “We currently have an office in the United States. At the moment, most of our products are planned and developed in Japan, and our sales activities are also handled remotely,” said Yao. “However, going forward, our hope is to recruit local staff in the U.S. and establish a structure where we can design and develop closer to the market itself.”  Image credit: SK Japan Co., Ltd. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/global-kigyo/the-products-powering-japans-economic-success/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/global-kigyo/the-products-powering-japans-economic-success/"},"headline":"The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success","datePublished":"2026-10-05T10:38:04.362Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T10:37:45.815Z","description":"The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/global-kigyo/the-products-powering-japans-economic-success/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"Paid Partner Content","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/global-kigyo/the-products-powering-japans-economic-success/","name":"The Products Powering Japan’s Economic Success"}}]}] ```