Trading Houses, Retail and Logistics

Under which industry of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification is the sōgō shōsha (総合商社), the general trading house, given as an example?

1. Non-store retail trade
2. Retail trade in general merchandise, with 50 or more regular employees
3. Wholesale trade in general merchandise, with 100 or more regular employees
4. Commission agents and brokers, acting for others in trade for a fee

Which activity does the Japan Standard Industrial Classification give as the work of wholesale trade?

1. Dispensing medicines on a doctor's prescription
2. Selling goods for personal or household consumption
3. Storing goods received in trust in a warehouse
4. Selling goods to retailers or to other wholesalers

Which is an appropriate description of the difference between a general trading house and a specialist trading house?

1. A general trading house does only wholesale and a specialist trading house only retail
2. A specialist trading house deals only domestically and a general trading house only overseas
3. A specialist trading house carries no inventory, and only a general trading house does
4. A general trading house handles goods spanning several fields, while a specialist trading house narrows itself to one field

Which describes the business investment (事業投資) side of a general trading house?

1. Investing in companies, resource development and the like, and earning profit or dividends in proportion to the stake held
2. Buying goods, holding them as one's own inventory, and reselling them for a margin on the trade
3. Making products from raw materials in one's own factory and selling them to customers
4. Standing between seller and buyer and brokering the sale of goods for a fee

What does the Japan Standard Industrial Classification say about industry 5598, commission agents and brokers?

1. They supply raw materials they own to subcontracting factories, have products made and sell them
2. They do not own the goods, and generally do not set prices, store or transport them
3. They sell goods for personal or household consumption
4. They buy goods, hold them as their own inventory, set a price and sell them

Which event of 1858 (Ansei 5, 安政5年) does ITOCHU Corporation (伊藤忠商事株式会社) treat as its founding?

1. The first Chubei Itoh began travelling and selling linen cloth
2. The cotton yarn wholesaler Itoh Itoten opened for business in Osaka
3. The kimono and drapery shop Benichu was founded at 2-chome, Honmachi, Osaka
4. The shares were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange

In ITOCHU's history, what sort of shop was Benichu, opened in Osaka in 1872 (Meiji 5, 明治5年)?

1. A cotton yarn wholesaler
2. A shipping agent
3. A kimono and drapery shop
4. A money changer

Which year does MITSUI and CO., LTD. (三井物産株式会社) give as its date of establishment in the company outline on its official website?

1. 1876
2. 1954
3. 1902
4. 1947

In the history of Mitsubishi Corporation (三菱商事株式会社), in which year is it recorded as starting afresh as a general trading house and listing its shares on both the Tokyo and Osaka exchanges?

1. 1937
2. 1918
3. 1954
4. 1971

Which year does Kokubu Group Corp. (国分グループ本社株式会社) give as its year of founding?

1. 1919
2. 1858
3. 1712
4. 1876

In the history of Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン-イレブン・ジャパン), what happened in 1973 (Showa 48, 昭和48年)?

1. The first store opened in Toyosu, Koto Ward, Tokyo, and convenience store operations began
2. 24-hour opening began, and it was decided to move every store to opening all year round
3. The trade name was changed from York Seven Co., Ltd. to Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd.
4. York Seven Co., Ltd. was established and a licence agreement was concluded with The Southland Corporation of the United States

What condition must an establishment meet to fall under industry 5611, department stores, of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification?

1. It has the facilities to handle a general range of clothing, food and household goods but has no store, taking orders and selling by means of communication, and has 50 or more regular employees
2. It retails a general range of clothing, food and household goods, mainly convenience goods, on a self-service basis
3. It mainly handles medicines and cosmetics and also retails convenience goods such as household goods and processed food
4. It has the facilities to handle a general range of clothing, food and household goods together with sales staff to attend to customers, mainly retails higher-priced goods such as clothing, jewellery and interior goods, and has 50 or more regular employees

Which is part of the description of industry 5631, convenience stores, in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification?

1. That the description includes having facilities handling a range of convenience goods, mainly retailing food and drink, and having 50 or more regular employees
2. That it has facilities handling a range of convenience goods, provides services such as accepting payment of various bills, and mainly retails food and drink
3. That the description expressly states self-service, alongside having facilities handling a range of convenience goods and mainly retailing food and drink
4. That the sales floor is under 250 square metres

Which matches the description of industry 5641, drugstores, in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification?

1. An establishment with facilities handling various goods, mainly handling medicines and cosmetics and also retailing a range of convenience goods such as household goods and processed food
2. An establishment mainly retailing pharmacist-guidance drugs and over-the-counter drugs
3. An establishment with facilities handling various goods, which is mainly a place where pharmacists dispense medicines and which also sells medicines and cosmetics
4. An establishment mainly retailing cosmetics

Where a retail establishment with a store also sells by mail order over the internet, how is it classified in the Japan Standard Industrial Classification?

1. It is classified in major groups 56 to 60 according to the kinds of goods handled
2. The part using the internet is classified under division G, information and communications
3. It is all classified under major group 61, non-store retail trade, whatever kinds of goods it handles
4. It is not covered by the classification

Which matches the definition of a chain business (連鎖化事業) in the Act on the Promotion of Small and Medium Retail Business (中小小売商業振興法)?

1. A business that, under a contract in a standard form, continuously sells goods or arranges their sale and also gives management guidance
2. A business that manufactures goods and wholesales them
3. A business that takes on logistics comprehensively on behalf of shippers
4. A business that runs stores directly by sending its own employees as store managers and that continuously gives management guidance under a contract in a standard form

What does the Act on the Promotion of Small and Medium Retail Business require of a person carrying on a specified chain business?

1. To hand over, within 1 year after the membership contract is concluded, a document stating matters such as membership fees and deposits together with the accounts for the latest business year, and to explain them
2. To guarantee its members a certain level of sales
3. To register its members' stores with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
4. When about to conclude a contract with a person seeking to join, to hand over in advance a document stating matters such as membership fees and to explain it

Which is an appropriate description of a PB, a private brand?

1. A mark showing only the place of production, applied to goods with no registered trademark
2. A brand that may only be applied to goods imported from overseas
3. Goods planned by a retailer or wholesaler and sold under its own brand
4. Goods planned by a manufacturer under its own brand and wholesaled widely to many retailers

Which private brand did Seven and i Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社セブン＆アイ・ホールディングス) launch across the group in 2007?

1. Topvalu
2. Seven Premium
3. Topvalu Green Eye
4. Topvalu Best Price

In the history of AEON Co., Ltd. (イオン株式会社), which is correct about JUSCO Co., Ltd., established in 1969?

1. It was a headquarters company funded in equal shares by Okadaya, Futagi and Shiro
2. On establishment it took the name AEON Co., Ltd. and became a pure holding company
3. It was established as a pure holding company with no retail stores at all
4. It was a sales subsidiary established with investment from Okadaya of Mie Prefecture alone

What procedure must a person go through to run a general freight motor truck transportation business?

1. Notice to the prefectural governor
2. Permission from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
3. Registration with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
4. Notification to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

What procedure must a person go through to run a light motor truck transportation business?

1. Permission from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
2. Notification to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
3. Registration with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
4. Certification by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Which combination of procedures under the Freight Forwarding Business Act is correct?

1. Notification for both the first class and the second class
2. Registration for the first-class freight forwarding business and permission for the second-class freight forwarding business
3. Permission for both the first-class and the second-class freight forwarding business
4. Permission for the first-class freight forwarding business and notification for the second-class freight forwarding business

What procedure must a person go through to run a warehousing business?

1. Permission from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
2. A licence from the prefectural governor
3. Registration with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
4. No procedure is required

Which is an appropriate account of 3PL as explained by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (国土交通省)?

1. Planning logistics strategy and proposing systems on behalf of a shipper, and taking that on comprehensively and carrying it out
2. Taking on nothing but the storage of goods in a warehouse
3. Handling nothing but freight transport to and from overseas
4. A shipper carrying its own goods using only vehicles and warehouses it has prepared itself, outsourcing nothing at all to outside operators

In the group history of Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd. (ヤマトホールディングス株式会社), in which year did Takkyubin (宅急便) go on sale in the Kanto region?

1. 1929
2. 1982
3. 1976
4. 1919

In Yamato Holdings' group history, what was begun in 1929 (Showa 4, 昭和4年) and is recorded as Japan's first scheduled route service?

1. The launch of Takkyubin for the Kanto region
2. Scheduled consolidated transport between Tokyo and Yokohama
3. The nationwide launch of chilled Cool Takkyubin
4. Entry into a packing business specialising in works of art

In the history of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (日本郵船株式会社), which is correct about its birth in 1885 (Meiji 18, 明治18年)?

1. It was born when Kyodo Unyu changed its name on its own
2. It was born from the merger of Yubin Kisen Mitsubishi and Kyodo Unyu
3. It was a company formed by taking over a state-run shipyard and the vessels it owned
4. It was a company formed when the shipping arm of Mitsubishi Goshi was split off

How does Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (川崎汽船株式会社) describe the present shape of its container shipping business on its official website?

1. Rather than setting up a company jointly with others, it has moved the container business to a wholly owned subsidiary of its own
2. Without teaming up with other companies, it still runs container ships on its own, using vessels it owns and its own sales network
3. It has been integrated into Ocean Network Express, set up by the company together with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen, 3 companies in all
4. It has withdrawn, and no company has taken the business over

Which combination of roles at each stage of the supply chain is appropriate?

1. Wholesalers pull together inventory, logistics and credit, and retailers hold the shelf and the contact with customers
2. Wholesalers hold the shelf and the contact with customers, and retailers pull together inventory and logistics
3. Retailers take the value added in manufacturing, and manufacturers handle storage and distribution processing
4. Warehousing companies act as agents in trade, and trading houses store goods