LG Electronics’ garment care system Styler has been gaining rapid popularity in Japan, with its sales in that country having jumped 50 percent over the past year, the company said Friday.

The achievement is considered notable, given that Japanese consumers have a reputation for not using products made by foreign companies, according to the firm.

Released in the Japanese market in 2017, the LG Styler has been sold at about 900 stores, including Tokyo Bic Camera.

Sales of the project as of May surged 50 percent from a year earlier, while annual sales in 2018 doubled compared to the previous year.

The steam clothing care system has been well-received in the Japanese business-to-business market as well, the Korean tech giant said, noting it supplied the products to about 700 rooms at Henn na Hotel.

The firm said Japanese consumers have been especially fascinated by a pollen removal feature of Styler as the number of pollen allergy sufferers in that country has continued to increase year after year.

A dehumidification feature of the product has also attracted Japanese consumers as the humidity is high in summer in Japan, and makes clothes damp.

“We will increase our marketing activities in Japan so more consumers in the Japanese market can experience the distinguished value of Styler,” said Lyu Jae-cheol, who heads the living appliance division at LG Electronics.

LG Electronics released Styler in Korea in 2011 after nine years of development.

The firm, which holds 181 global patents regarding the product, has released the product in about 10 countries including the United States, China, Germany and Japan since then.

LG Styler is designed to refresh clothes without chemicals, providing an ideal method for clothes that require extra special care such as coats and sweaters and items made of wool or silk.

Unlike typical washing machines, the one-of-a-kind Styler does not clean clothes with water, but with steam. With the touch of a button, hot steam is sprayed directly onto the clothes to eliminate more than 99 percent of the germs and bacteria that infest clothes, hats and scarves.

The “Moving Hanger” feature shakes the clothes through the steam at 220 revolutions per minute to reduce odors and wrinkles.

Other convenience-enhancing features include Wi-Fi compatibility, which allows customized cycles to be downloaded to a smartphone from the internet. Furthermore, the Styler can send push notifications to customers’ smartphones and display information on how much energy is being used.