Vending Machine

In Japan, with a high population density, limited space, a preference for shopping on foot or by bicycle, low rates of vandalism and petty crime, and a small and decreasing number of working-age people, there seems to be no limit to what is sold by vending machines. While the majority of machines in Japan are stocked with drinks, snacks, and cigarettes, one occasionally finds vending machines selling items such as bottles of liquor, cans of beer, fried food, underwear, iPods, porn magazines and sexual lubricants, and potted plants. [4] Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita, with about one machine for every 23 people. [5]

The first vending machine in Japan was made of wood and sold postage stamps and post cards. About 80 years ago, there were vending machines that sold sweets called "Glico". In 1967, the 100-yen coin was distributed for the first time, and vending machine sales skyrocketed overnight,[citation needed] selling a vast variety of items everywhere.

In Japan, vending machines are known as 自動販売機 (jidō-hanbaiki) from jidō, or "automatic"; hanbai, or "vending"; and ki, or "machine", 自販機 (jihanki) for short.

In 1999, the estimated 5.6 million coin- and card-operated Japanese vending machines generated $53.28 billion in sales. Vending machine goods and services can cost as little as 80 and as much as 3,000 yen.

With the introduction to services such as "Osaifu-Keitai", cell phones can now be used to pay for the items bought from these vending machines more easily.

Scheduled for introduction in 2008, a smart card called taspo will restrict sales of cigarettes from vending machines. An embedded integrated circuit will contain information about the age of the cardholder.

(source: Wikipedia)