Necessity is the mother of geographical characteristics

As you can see it in the image below, Japan is a country of backward parking. Even speeding drivers follow the rule. Do you know why that is? Some people outside Japan may think there’s no difference between forward and backward parking. It may look like putting off trouble later or not, but actually there’s a big difference. In the first place, if it’s just a matter of personal preference, the ratio should be nearly fifty-fifty anywhere in the world. The fact is very simple. It’s easier to park backward in a small country like Japan. I don’t explain the details why backward parking is easier in a small area, but it is also clear from the fact that forklift trucks required to turn in a small radius are rear-wheel steering.

Japan is a forest country

I may have been misleading you in the above paragraph. Japan’s land area is not that small. It’s ranked as #61 among more than 190 countries in the world. The problem is about 70% of the land is occupied by the forest. If it’s compared by population density in inhabitable area, Japan is ranked as #10. Japan’s abundant forest resources make our inhabitable area smaller and develop our unique culture, like backward-parking and so much more.

Due to a small inhabitable area, we have improved a lot of techniques to use limited spaces effectively. The good example is two-in-one inventions, like one of our products “ALP sofa.” It can be used as both a living seat and a dining bench. In a sense, what created and has grown the long-selling wooden sofa is Japan’s abundant forest resources, directly and indirectly. I think such a spirit of rationality is always seen somewhere in our products.

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