KFC Obon Barrel

For me, this appears to be where an interesting example of where a quintessentially American-type special comes into contact with a traditional Japanese holiday. Obon is the annual holiday where the souls of anecters return and families usually get together. KFC is offering an Obon barrel to cater to this family occasion. This ad also emphasizes that the chicken is all locally produced. お盆バーレル ケンタッキーフライドチキン
http://www.kfc.co.jp

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Japan Communist Party Anti-TPP Poster

Japanese farmers, just as the majority of farmers in all developed countries, are protected government measures. These are threatened by the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that would lower tariffs in the wider Pacific/North America area. The Japanese Communist Party is vocally taking the side of farmers. Here is a typical poster which reads "Lies and cheating . . . firmly opposed to TPP".

Wendy's Summer Specials

The summer special burgers at Wendy's are two "Asian Taste Pretzel Burgers": the Pretzel Spicy Korean BBQ Beef Burger (with a special pepper sauce) and the Pretzel Cilantro Avocado Burger (with coriander and sweet chili sauce). Wendy's is down to one location and two collaboration stores (with First Kitchen) all in central Tokyo. They have had some interesting ideas in recent years, so if you want to support this chain, now might be the time. ウェンディーズ 辛カルビバーガー パクチーアボカドバーガー
http://wendys.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

KitKat Kumamon Kumamoto Green Tea

KitKat has introduced a green tea with bitter chocolate variety exclusively in Kyushu and Okinawa. It carries the popular Kumamon character, which is only allowed when the product contains Kumamoto Prefecture sourced ingredients. In this case the green tea is from Kumamoto. This character and Kumamoto in general have been in the hearts and minds of Japanese since the devistating earthquake in April. Buying Kumamon branded products has become one way to support the people and economy of Kumamoto. Kumamon site here. くまモン キットカット くまもと茶
http://nestle.jp

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Morinaga Aloe Sterol Beauty Yogurt

"An old man has started to live on my face" complains a young beautiful model. Another caption reads "No! to old man skin!" Clearly, a scary prospect for young women.

One of Morinaga's major functional yogurt is Aloe Yogurt which is a long time popular brand, claiming data associating this yogurt with blood cholesterol levels and weight loss.

Now new research has identified the 5 active aloe sterols here, and a new patent covers the activity of these sterols on stimulating fibroblasts in the skin to produce more collagen - thus the connection with younger skin and beauty. The product name Aloeste アロエステ combines Aloe with Esthetic アロエ and エステティック.

森永　ヨーグルト アロエステ
http://aloesthe.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Glico JA Milk - Saga Prefecture Milk

One of Glico's milk brands sources high quality Saga Prefecture milk through JA (also called Zen-Noh or  The  National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations). By the way, there is no longer a separate Glico Dairy website, Glico food products (chocolates, dairy, snacks, etc.) are now listed together even though they are made by separate subsidiaries.
グリコ JA牛乳
https://www.glico.com/jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Haagen-Dazs Macadamia Nut

Although this item has a 20 year history, it was renewed this year to improve the crunch and texture by using a mixture of both larger and more finely ground macadamia nut chunks to go with the rich butterscotch ice cream. バタースカッチアイスクリームとマカデミアナッツ　ハーゲンダッツ
http://www.haagen-dazs.co.jp

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji Sponsorship of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Meiji starts promoting its sponsorship (gold partner, dairy and confectionary) of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 via a splash page on its website. 明治 東京オリンピック

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

First Kitchen Cheese Fondue Bacon Egg Burger

First Kitchen is continuing a series of bacon egg burger specials that dates back to 1977. The current incarnation is a cheese fondue with pumpkin, egg plant on bran buns. The Danish brand is in commercials, indicating ingredients from Denmark (presumably, the cheese). ファーストキッチン チーズフォンデュ風ベーコンエッグバーガー
http://www.first-kitchen.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Lotteria Cheese in Thick Patty Burgers

Lotteria is offering a limited series using thick cheese-filled (cheddar, Camembert, Gouda, cream cheese mixture) burger patties. The varieties include various toppings: demi-glace sauce (made with simmered red wine, apple and bouillon), demi-glace sauce plus an egg sunny side up, and tomato plus meet sauce. ロッテリア チーズイン厚肉
https://www.lotteria.jp

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.