23/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | JUNE 23, 2025

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Japan’s high-tech sunscreens tap into skincare craze

TOKYO: When YouTuber Hannah Price set out to compare Japanese and Australian sunscreen, she was not expecting her deep dive into the subject to rack up over two million views. The huge number of people poring over Price’s video shows the growing interest in skincare products from Japan, much like the K-beauty phenomenon from South Korea. It includes sun protection, increasingly recognised as a daily essential by influencers who want to shield their skin from ageing and enthuse about the lightweight texture of Japanese brands. Companies that have perfected their secret formulas want to capitalise on booming demand, including by building factories overseas and selling to Japan’s record influx of foreign tourists. Price, 32, fell into a “year-long rabbit hole” while making her video, learning about everything from SPF science to cultural attitudes to sun exposure. “I always loved Japanese sunscreen, since I first moved to Japan in 2012,” she told AFP at her studio in Tokyo. “I remember trying it for the first time and thinking, ‘this is so much better than anything I tried in Australia,’” her home country where sun cream felt “thick, sticky, greasy”. “I thought that the video would be popular ... but I wasn’t expecting it to reach as far” as it did, Price said. The habit of regular sunscreen use is spreading, especially among younger generations, said Takuya Wada, who works in marketing for Japanese chemical and cosmetics firm Kao. “There are no borders when it comes to obtaining information on social media, especially Instagram and TikTok,” he said, adding that influencer posts have a “very large” impact on global sunscreen sales. The global skincare market was worth more than US$115 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to US$194 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. A boom in celebrity skincare brands has contributed to the industry’s growth – with A-listers like Kylie Jenner using social media to share their beauty routines, including sun protection, with hundreds of

“heavy and uncomfortable” Western offerings. “There are always new technologies and innovative textures that are often ahead of other countries,” said the 40-year-old, who reviews sunscreens on YouTube. At an outlet of drugstore chain MatsukiyoCocokara in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, around 90 sunscreen products are lined up on the shelves. “Sales of sunscreen is improving year on year,” said Takeshi Otsuki, deputy manager of the chain’s cosmetic division. “More people are using sunscreen on a daily basis these days, so their needs are becoming more diverse.”

The number of male customers is also increasing, and Japanese sunscreens are very popular with overseas tourists who buy them in multipacks, Otsuki said. While summer is high season, sunscreen is popular year-round, because Japan has a “relatively high number of sunny days in the winter. YouTuber Price now uses both Japanese and Australian sunscreen, depending on the occasion. She sees the rise in education about sunscreens worldwide as a win-win situation. It “means you’re going to be better protected in general, which is great for everyone”, she said. – AFP

o US$115 billion global market expected to grow to US$194 billion by 2032

sunscreen as everyday protection against sunspots and ageing, caused when UV rays penetrate into the skin, said Fukui. Tans have long been fashionable in Western countries, but awareness of skin cancer risks is rising, making sunscreen an important healthcare product there, Fukui said. One fan of Japanese brands is Thai influencer Suari Tasanakulpan, who calls them “lightweight” compared to

millions of followers. When it comes to sunscreen, country-specific regulations mean no single company dominates the field, as the entry barriers to new markets are higher. Kao’s main sunscreen brand Biore UV is ranked 10th worldwide for sales, and second in Asia – competing with the likes of L’Oreal and Beiersdorf, and Japanese rivals such as Shiseido. The company wants sales from sun protection to reach ¥35 billion (RM1 billion) in 2027, up 1.6 times from 2023. It plans to boost overseas production by opening three new sunscreen factories, in Indonesia, Brazil and Germany. It is technically difficult to develop formulas that block the rays effectively with a smooth texture, as demanded by Japanese consumers, said Takashi Fukui, research and development director for Kao skincare products. But using scientific know-how to strike this tricky balance is what makes Kao “different from other European or American makers”. In Japan, a cultural obsession with light skin dates back to the sixth century and using white powder imported from China later became a status symbol among nobility. Fair skin indicated a life away from outdoor labour and sun exposure, and an old Japanese proverb says “white skin covers the seven flaws”. In the 1990s, people began using sunscreen or other cosmetics to avoid tanning – a trend dubbed bihaku , or beautifully white. These days, Japanese women use

A major drug chain store in the Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya district displaying various sunscreen products on shelves. – AFPPIC

Tesla to build first grid-scale power plant in China NEW YORK: Tesla announced last week that it signed an agreement to build its first grid-scale energy storage power station project in China. The project will help with the flexible adjustment of grid resources, and “effectively solve pressures relating to urban power supply”, Tesla said in a post on Weibo social media platform. “This project is expected to become the largest grid-side energy storage project in China.” Such energy storage systems help to enhance stability in the electricity grid at a time when there are greater supplies of solar and wind power. Media outlet Yicai reported that Tesla, Shanghai authorities and China Kangfu International Leasing Co. held a signing ceremony on Friday for the project. It said the deal involved investments of 4 billion yuan (RM2.4 billion). – AFP

South Korea counts on shipbuilding to ease US tariff woes SEOUL: Asia’s fourth largest economy South Korea is facing gruelling tariffs by US President Donald Trump, but its shipbuilding industry could prove a useful bargaining chip. Sweden’s Kockums Shipyard filed for bankruptcy in 1987 – and in a symbolic shift of global shipbuilding power, Hyundai acquired its 140m Goliath crane for one dollar. It now towers over southern Ulsan. 4% of total exports and grew by almost 20% from the previous year – reaching US$25.6 billion. as a result, the sector is seen as a “highly important bargaining chip in trade negotiations”, he added.

At an APEC finance ministers’ meeting in South Korea in May, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Chung Ki-sun, vice-chairman of HD Hyundai, the country’s largest shipbuilder, before he met Seoul’s top officials. Greer also met with the CEO of Hanwha Ocean, the first non American company authorised to carry out a dry-dock maintenance of a US Navy vessel. With worries growing about China’s expanding naval fleet and potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the US has begun seeking reliable overseas shipyards to support its operations in the Asia-Pacific region. The global market for ship maintenance, repair, and overhaul is projected to exceed US$60 billion annually. – AFP

Shipbuilding directly employs around 120,000 workers – roughly 1% of the country’s total workforce – with indirect employment significantly higher in industrial hubs like Ulsan. Industry data shows so far this year, new orders have exceeded 13 trillion won (RM40 billion). In March, Hanwha Ocean secured a landmark US$1.6 billion contract to build LNG carriers for Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, one of the largest single orders in the sector this year. Trump has showed “significant interest in South Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation”, said South Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk geun in April. Like the Europeans, the US shipbuilding industry has lagged behind South Korea and China, and

In the 1990s and 2000s, South Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries ramped up investment in research and development, backed by generous government subsidies. The country secured a competitive edge in high-value-added vessels, including LNG carriers, very large crude carriers, and offshore platforms. Now, South Korea ranks as the world’s second-largest shipbuilding nation, trailing only behind China. South Korea’s exports hit a record high in 2024, with analysts pointing to shipbuilding as one of the key drivers. The sector accounted for nearly

Already hit by sector levies on steel and car exports, Seoul is laser-focused on negotiations over a 25% country-specific tariff that has been suspended until July 8. In the 1970s, military president Park Chung-hee accelerated South Korea’s heavy industry, designating sectors such as steel and shipbuilding “strategically important” and rolling out state subsidies. At the same time, POSCO was founded – now one of the world’s largest steel producers – and conglomerate Hyundai built its shipyard in southeastern Ulsan, which started to grow rapidly. European rivals struggled to keep pace.