A Japanese customer buys a few snacks at Lawson, one of Japan's popular convenience store chains with about 10,000 shops nationwide. (Sonia Narang/GlobalPost)

Japanese consumers tighten spending

Once a hallmark of Japanese consumer culture, convenience stores are the latest casualty of the worldwide recession.

By Sonia Narang — Special to GlobalPost
Published: February 5, 2010 06:30 ET

OSAKA, Japan — As rush-hour travelers spill out of the busy Japan Railways train station, some walk into the bright, fluorescent-lit convenience store just outside the exit gates.

The clean, organized store is a world unto itself: rows of spotless shelves stocked with everything from milk cartons to packaged underwear to freshly baked goods. Clerks greet customers with a loud...

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