Last month, Coca-Cola (Japan) Co introduced vending machines that use a QR (quick response) code to send product information to customers' smartphones in 15 languages. The company plans to install 80,000 of the machines by 2020. Japanese beverage makers see high growth potential in the foreign-tourist market and are hurrying to respond. According to one market source, the large number of vending machines found on the streets is a uniquely Japanese phenomenon and the product of a safe society.
Many foreign tourists are said to be interested in the vending machines and their offerings, but often give up on buying beverages because of instructions written in Japanese.