自動售貨機峯會將展望中日市場未來

Japan and China may publicly snarl over disputed territory, naval brinkmanship and the interpretaion of history, but for Asia’s biggest economies the era of vending machine diplomacy has dawned.

日中兩國或許公開在爭議領土、海上邊緣政策和歷史解讀上爭吵不休，但對亞洲這兩大經濟體而言，自動售貨機外交的時代已降臨。

This month, in the intimacy of a Ginza hotel, one of Japan’s most quietly influential business lobbies will meet with its Chinese counterpart for unprecedented talks.

本月，在銀座(Ginza)一家賓館內，日本最具不動聲色的影響力的商業遊說機構之一將與中國同行會面，進行前所未有的會談。

Convened through mutual need and ambition, the summit will focus on the future of an industry that generates global sales of consumer products worth more than $50bn per year.

在相互需求和共同抱負推動下召開的這次峯會，將集中討論一個每年全球消費品銷售額超過500億美元的行業的未來。

Delegates have high hopes for detente: however feisty maritime tensions become, when it comes to the automated sale of cold tea, instant noodles and ice cream, China and Japan have acres of common ground.

雙方代表都非常希望兩國關係緩和：不管海上緊張局勢多麼嚴峻，但在自動銷售涼茶、方便麪和冰淇淋方面，中日兩國有着很多共識。

Nor is this the only sign of thaw. The quintessentially Japanese animation Stand By Me Doraemon is setting box office records in China, with cinema-goers shunning Hollywood blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron in favour of the grinning robot cat, in spite of warnings in a state-owned newspaper that Doraemon represented a stealth export of Japanese cultural values.

這並非關係解凍的唯一標誌。經典日本動漫影片《哆啦A夢》(Stand By Me Doraemon)在中國創下了票房紀錄，觀衆們不看好萊塢大片《復仇者聯盟2：奧創紀元》(Avengers: Age of Ultron)，而是支持這隻咧嘴大笑的機器貓，儘管一家國有報社警告稱，哆啦A夢在悄悄地輸出日本的文化價值觀。

The vending machine summit, to be held on June 16, will provide the first bilateral forum for representatives of China and Japan — 30 delegates on both sides — to discuss the future of the industry amid fundamental market shifts across the two countries. Each side, said Kiyoaki Takeda, the Chairman of the Japanese Vending Machine Manufacturers’ Association, has much to gain from co-operation.

定於6月16日召開的自動售貨機峯會，將爲中日雙方代表（每一方均爲30人）提供首個雙邊論壇，以討論該行業在兩國基本市場變化中的未來。日本自動售貨機工業會(JVMA)會長竹田清昭(Kiyoaki Takeda)表示，每一方都會在合作中受益良多。

As hosts of the summit, the Japanese are anxious to discuss their potential for growth in Asia’s biggest economy as ageing demographics and sluggish wage growth weigh on domestic performance.

作爲峯會的主辦方，日本人熱切希望討論一下，在人口日益老齡化和工資增長放緩令國內業績承壓之時，他們可能爲促進亞洲最大經濟體的增長髮揮哪些作用。

Japan may boast a static, metallic sales force of 5m vending machines but their performance is waning along with tapering sales of soft drinks, beer and cigarettes. These are nervous times for Japanese companies used to producing more than 300,000 machines a year on expectations of selling most of them into the domestic market.

日本的自動售貨機銷售隊伍達到500萬人，但隨着軟飲、啤酒和香菸的銷量下降，他們的業績開始下滑。目前是自動售貨機生產商感到緊張的時刻，他們過去每年的產量通常超過30萬臺，希望將其中大部分銷售到國內市場中。

For China, which has an estimated 100,000 machines in place, there is admiration for the way in which vending machines have so comprehensively infiltrated Japanese daily life, and for the way the JVMA’s members have manipulated the politics behind that.

中國目前已安裝了大約10萬臺自動售貨機。自動售貨機是如何全面滲透進入日本日常生活的，以及日本自動售貨機工業會的會員企業是如何操縱了這一局面背後的政治力量的，都令中國感到欽佩。

Of even greater interest is the vending machines’ ability to deliver earnings. Japan’s largest soft drinks makers — Coca-Cola, Suntory, Kirin and Asahi — are estimated to shift about a third of their total domestic volumes through the machines but they derive roughly two-thirds of their profits from those sales.

更讓人感興趣的是自動售貨機的賺錢能力。據估計，對日本市場最大的軟飲生廠商——可口可樂(Coca-Cola)、三得利(Suntory)、麒麟(Kirin)和朝日(Asahi)——而言，其三分之一的國內銷量是通過自動售貨機實現的，但這部分銷量創造了大約三分之二的利潤。

“The Chinese have realised that there is a lot going on behind the operation of a successful vending machine,” said Mr Takeda. “It is basically a service business: the machines have to be kept clean, well stocked and have a perfect mechanism. If they take the money and fail to vend just once, then that destroys their image. The Chinese are keen to understand that side of the industry from Japan.”

“中國人意識到，一臺成功的自動售貨機的運行的背後，需要做大量的工作，”竹田清昭表示。“這基本來說是一種服務生意：售貨機必須保持清潔、要儲滿商品，還要在操作上特別流暢。如果售貨機把錢收走了，但一件商品也吐不出來，那麼廠家的名聲就被敗壞了。中國人特別想從日本方面瞭解該行業的那一面。”