At a Tokyo kids' sports event, Olympic sprinter Shingo Suetsugu graded Ichiro's running across ten categories and landed on 59 out of 100, one point shy of passing. The baseball legend turned his latest near-miss into a perfectly on-brand joke.
Once struggling to gain a foothold in Western markets, Japan's Uniqlo has surged to 47th on Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2025 ranking. With overseas revenue exceeding 56% and Europe/North America now outpacing China, we break down the strategies behind this turnaround — from outfitting Sweden's Olympic team to its LifeWear philosophy and differentiation from ZARA and H&M. What can other Japanese brands learn from Uniqlo's global conquest?
With Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) at a market cap of roughly 27 trillion yen and its domestic business past one trillion yen in revenue, a single brand holds nearly 10% of Japan's apparel market. Explore how legacy brands like Onward and Sanyo Shokai are pivoting to survive in this new era.
Discover how Japanese workwear originally designed for construction sites has become a mainstream fashion trend. Learn about Workman and other brands offering high-performance, affordable clothing that's taking Japan by storm, plus Japanese reactions to this phenomenon.
UNIQLO releases Pokemon 30th anniversary UT collection in late March 2026, featuring original watercolor artwork from Pokemon Red and Green. The lineup includes starter Pokemon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle), Pikachu, and more across 10 designs. Men's items at ¥1,990, kids' at ¥990.