Activities

Trade Promotion Operations

The Association carries out the following projects to promote export and import of furniture.

　　　　　■Export Promotion Operations

The Association pursues a wide range of activities aimed at promoting export of Japanese furniture, including surveys of overseas market trends and collection of related publications and materials; dispatch of inspection teams; introduction and promotion of the domestic furniture industry and products in overseas markets; and coordination between Japanese furniture manufacturers and foreign sources of raw materials. To balance its furniture import promotion activities, the Association continues to study and propose export promotion measures for the domestic industry.

In order to enhance this promotion work more actively, we established in September 2008 the “Export Promotion Committee” consisting of our member companies that are interested in the export of their furniture. The committee members are now eager to open the overseas market.

Please see here.

■Import Promotion Operations

IDAFIJ supports the Japan-bound furniture export operations of both domestic and foreign public agencies and furniture manufacturers; hosts a variety of missions from abroad for surveys of the Japanese market and promotion of the sales of foreign products; cooperates in organization of exhibitions, fairs and business meetings held in Japan by foreign countries; gathers and disseminates information about the products foreign manufacturers intend to export to Japan; and forwards business inquiries from domestic importers. Furthermore, the Association regularly surveys the current conditions of domestic distributors and retailers interested in importing foreign furniture, as well as overseas manufacturers experienced in export to Japan and those who aspire to export to Japan, and disseminates the collected information to interested parties.

Opening Doors to the Japanese Market

In the interest of expanding transactions by domestic and foreign manufacturers in the Japanese market, expediting distribution by the domestic furniture industry, and stimulating the furniture and interior industries overall, IDAFIJ in 1979 inaugurated the first International Furniture Fair Tokyo (IFFT). As a practical measure to expand the international furniture business, IFFT provides an effective forum for business talks, since the site offers an environment conducive to successful discussions and transactions among exhibitors and buyers from Japan and abroad. In response to the Fair's effectiveness at such business talk promotion, the size of exhibitions, the contents, and actual transactions at the site have steadily increased at each Fair since the first.

The only international fair in the Japanese furniture market, IFFT is also the largest furniture fair for both Japan and Asia. The Association is endeavoring to attract even more exhibitors and buyers from Japan and abroad, and to expand and intensify IFFT's effectiveness at promoting actual business results by increasing actual transactions, releasing more new products, strongly promoting its organizational objectives, and encouraging the general public's growing interest in furniture and interior decor.

 Please see here.

As the internationalization of furniture production and distribution progresses, IDAFIJ researches foreign investment conditions and economic environments for Japanese manufacturers who intend expansion or investment abroad; promotes and facilitates technical tie-ups; dispatches consultants overseas to provide technical guidance and help improve quality control in furniture production; hosts technical training teams; and cooperates in a variety of ways with overseas nations to promote the growth of their furniture industries.

　　　　　■International Interchange Projects

As a measure to deepen positive international relations, the Association promotes liaison and exchanges with overseas organizations to cooperate on mutually beneficial development of furniture manufacturers in Japan and abroad. The Association organizes international conferences and informal gatherings for discussion of foreign trade, communication forums, international exchange seminars, and dispatch of a variety of missions abroad. In particular, the Association intends to contribute to cooperative exchange and development of the furniture industry in the Asian and Pacific areas by participating in the establishment of the Council of Asia Pacific Furniture Associations (CAPFA) as the furniture council of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI). As a key member, the Association jointly implements CAPFA-led activities with the furniture industries of other nations.

IDAFIJ's secretariat, resident representatives, and member companies gather materials about furniture and interiors - including information on markets and industrial trends, manufacturers and their products, design, techniques, raw materials, and exhibitions and fairs in Japan and abroad - and offer them to members of the secretariat, in addition to publishing and disseminating selections of general interest.

The Association offers the following publications featuring the latest information on the furniture industries of Japan:  "General Situation of the Imported Furniture Market in Japan," "General Situation of the Furniture Industry in Japan " and "Import and Export Statistics of Furniture by Items." The Association issues information on its own operations through the internet, as well.

Please see here.

OTHERS

Cooperation with related association at home and abroad.

Experimental manufacture and technical research of machines for general merchandise

Outline of International Development Associatiion of The Furniture Industry of Japan (IDAFIJ)

Secretariat

No. 301,Sun Park Mansion Chiyoda, 2-9-4, Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, TOKYO, 102-0072 JAPAN
TEL: +81-3-3261-2801
FAX: +81-3-3261-2802

<MAP>

History

May 1957

Japan Export Furniture Manufacturer's Association (JEFMA) established

June 1960

JEFMA incorporated as a manufacturer's cooperative association

Nov. 1966

JEFMA reorganized as an incorporated manufacturers' association

May 1975

JEFMA reorganized as a corporate juridical person and renamed as IDAFIJ

 

April 2010 

        Amalgamation with Federation of Japan Furniture Manufacturers Associations

Chairman

Vice-Chairman