In the 1960s, leading Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido became the first to launch a vitamin C-based product to lighten the complexion, but it was only toward the end of the 1990s that it began to expand its range.
"Even the youngest customers dream of having skin the color of [the outside of] a hardboiled egg -- shining white," said Masami Kumaki, who is in charge of training saleswomen for Shiseido.
Sales of skin-whitening products in Asia grew by 20 percent between 1997 and last year and accounted for 23 percent of the company's total sales in the region, said Shiseido official Toshiaki Igeta. Sales of sunscreen creams jumped by 52 percent.
"Women in Singapore or Taiwan, where I've worked, want to have skin as beautiful as the Japanese. They don't just want white skin, but translucent, almost transparent skin," Igeta said. "In East Asia the sun's rays are very strong, that's why they want Japanese products."
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