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The story
Talent Ruriko Kojima (32), who announced earlier this year that she would enter the tea business starting this January, shared her goal on her YouTube channel update on the 15th, saying she wants to “raise the value of Japanese tea and try earning foreign currency.” The news set off a flurry of reactions on 5channel’s Geinou/Sports News+ board — some pointed out that matcha and Uji tea prices have already been climbing due to rising overseas demand, others voiced hope and praise for a new venture built on her fame, while still others were skeptical about her funding sources and the venture’s real substance.
What does Ruriko Kojima want to do with her tea business? “I want to raise the value of Japanese tea and try earning foreign currency!”
Talent Ruriko Kojima (32) updated her YouTube channel on the 15th, revealing her goals for the tea business in part of the video.
Kojima drew attention back in January this year when she announced her move into the tea business.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
All you joining in will accomplish is flooding the market with low-quality stuff — "I want foreign currency" comes first — and dragging the value right back down.
She never had that kind of caliber to begin with.
Well, it's gotta be Kingdom (the manga/anime), right?
She'd already fallen off way before this.
Back in the salaryman-style pay days at big agency Horipro, she was just being super heavily pushed because it made money for the agency.
Well, she's got a kid to feed, so she's gotta earn somehow.
Respect.
Between rent and beauty upkeep alone, she's probably needing at least 1.5 million yen a month, no?
China's been slapping "Uji matcha" on products without any right to,
and it's becoming a real problem —
speaking as an actual Uji resident here.
The main reason Meiji discontinued its "Essel Super Cup Matcha" is believed to be that soaring global demand for matcha ingredients pushed costs up to where it just wasn't profitable anymore.
Though having to go to Mitsukoshi every time to buy it is a pain.
Her education — Chiba University or whatever — doesn't matter.
What matters is whether she's got a nose for business or not.
There are cases like the Otsuka Furniture daughter too (a cautionary tale of an heiress whose business bid went badly).
I doubt even Hara-sensei (the manga's creator) would say no to that.
But they're not exactly detail-oriented.
Whether this particular person succeeds at it is a different question though.
Whatever you think of her personality, she's not stupid.
Isn't she just getting fed convenient lines by some entrepreneur behind the scenes trying to cash in on her name recognition?
If tea prices double, we won't be able to casually drink it anymore.
That part deserves a lot of credit.
Feels like it'll end up like rice — prices just went up domestically in Japan and nothing was really gained from it.
Honestly with both rice and Japanese tea, it's partly self-inflicted — Japanese people themselves undervalued them.
Even back when prices were cheap, domestic consumption of both had already dropped off a cliff.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Japanese tea, and matcha in particular, has seen its raw material costs climb in recent years amid surging overseas demand, to the point where some domestic manufacturers have had to rethink production of staple matcha products. Against a backdrop that also includes the unauthorized use of the “Uji matcha” name in China becoming a real issue, Kojima’s stated goal of “raising the value of Japanese tea” is rooted in genuine market conditions. What split opinion in the thread was less the market backdrop itself than how to judge her entering the business on the strength of her name recognition, plus distrust over her funding sources and the venture’s real substance. Supportive voices praised her for “earning through business rather than relying on her looks,” while skeptical ones leaned on her past career and personal life to question her business acumen. That said, no concrete evidence about the venture’s backers or revenue structure actually surfaced in the thread — it remains speculation.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Ruriko Kojima to enter the tea business starting in January, aiming to “raise the value of Japanese tea and earn foreign currency!”.”
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