We round up the latest COVID-19 related news from Japan as retailers respond to changes in consumer trends and government policies. 1 July - plastic bag charge now mandatory On 1 July, the government made plastic bag fees mandatory across the country. Matsumoto KiYoshi and some other businesses such as Aeon had already been charging fees for plastic bags  since April . 25 May state of ...

FamilyMart will introduce a remote-controlled robot that will place products on shelves in its stores in Japan, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Driving efficiencies in-store FamilyMart will partner with robotics development company Telexistence to test the initiative next month at some FamilyMart stores in Tokyo. The robot will be remotely controlled by an operator using virtual rea...

Between 1 st and 31 st August, customers that use self-checkout at Lawson Japan can earn reward points worth 2% of each purchase. Encouraging contact-free The initiative aims to encourage shoppers to self-checkout at Lawson stores. There has been growing customer demand for contact-free solutions following the outbreak of COVID-19. Aeon, for example, recently launched Regi Go checko...