Japan Overseas Travel Situation: Ideas later.

Japan's summer outbound travel to fall 9% on weak yen, 1st post-COVID drop

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Overseas trips from Japan are expected to decrease by 8.8 percent to a cumulative 2.17 million for this year's summer holiday period, the first year-on-year decline since the post-pandemic recovery in 2023, as consumers feel the impact of the weak yen and rising costs, according to major travel agency JTB Corp.

Higher costs are steering vacationers away from long-haul destinations such as North America and Australia, while domestic travel may also struggle as people become more frugal amid inflation, according to the company's projections for the July 15 to Aug. 31 period.

Average overseas travel expenditure per person per trip is estimated to rise 6.3 percent to 323,000 yen ($2,000). In addition to the weak yen driving up spending abroad, higher fuel surcharges -- triggered by soaring aviation fuel prices amid the Middle East crisis -- are also adding to the burden.

Nearby destinations with affordable airfares are proving popular, with South Korea topping with 26.2 percent, followed by Taiwan at 16.2 percent, according to the JTB estimates.

The number of visits to China is projected to be half of last year's figure, at 10.1 percent, amid strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's November remarks on Taiwan.

Domestic trips are expected to drop 4.4 percent from the previous year to a cumulative 69 million, while average spending per person is projected to rise 3.2 percent to 48,500 yen.

Eastern Japan's Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, is expected to be the most popular destination at 19.0 percent, followed by the Kinki region in western Japan at 14.9 percent and Hokkaido in the country's north at 11.2 percent.

The general trend appears to indicate that people are being more selective in their spending, with a JTB official saying, "There is growing polarization between those who are cutting back on expenses -- such as by shortening the length of their vacation -- versus those who want to take the trip they desire, even if it costs more."

JTB made the projections based on an online survey conducted in June among people planning trips of one night or more during the indicated summer holiday period.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260712/p2g/00m/0bu/005000c

Japan June Wholesale Prices: Updated July 13, 2026.

Japan wholesale prices up 7.1% in June, fastest rise in over 3 years

Ideas

Up recently many Japanese companies were reluctant to increase prices as they felt customers were very important to their business and they felt an connection to customers and society to keep prices down somewhat.

But those days seems long gone, as profits margins become very think and companies can no longer absorb their costs and now they have no choice but to pass-on their costs to the next I the supply chain.

And yes, the Middle East situation is affecting numerous industries globally and for the most part, it looks like the effects will continue on for a long time.

It's easy to say companies should have always have had alternative sources but finding the needed or exact alternative sources at the right price can be a challenge for many companies who have limited resources and limited profit margins.

However, companies, for the most part, especially as Japan is a resource-poor country, should always try to have alternative sources these days as the global environment is just too volatile and is always changing and sometimes not in the favor of some industries or companies.

Yes, not just products directly related to crude oil but now consumer goods that might be made indirectly from oil type materials are now seeing prices increases as companies can no longer absorb the increase in raw material or finished material prices and have no choice but to pass-on their costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer.

Unfortunately, these days, even some companies that might have products that have no direct link to the Middle East situation might use it or rationalize it that their products are being affected indirectly and also will increase the prices on their products, as a way to squeeze out more profits.

Of course packaging products are significantly being affected by the situation in the Middle East and to change packaging, which is a form or advertising, might be very difficult and it takes a lot of time to change to simple packaging or alternative forms or packaging.

The challenge might be customers who identify products with colorful packaging might not be able to find the products they want or need if they can't see the same packaging which maybe for the elderly or fixed income customers could be difficult for them.

Global prices, ever since the pandemic seem to be increasing monthly or even at least yearly as companies, now days, just seem to continue to increase prices to keep their shareholders happy with no regard for customers as it seems customers are now not important as companies only care about what their shareholders want or need.

The Bank of Japan, at least on the surface, does seem to care about society and the overall affect that increasing the key rate will have and are trying to keep the rate as low as possible so that the key rate side affects don't have that much of an affect on Japanese society and the economy.

Again, many companies in Japan, back in the day, used to be very reluctant to increase prices as customers, along with employees were considered important stakeholders for the company and increasing prices was sometimes seems as being disloyal to customers, but those days seem long gone as profit margins continue to decrease and companies are putting a lot of emphasis on keeping shareholders happy and not company employees and especially customers who no longer the most important component of their business.

Japan is resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs and is subject always to global price fluctuations and the weak Japanese yen, which helps Japanese export companies hurts import prices and the overall Japanese domestic economy.

But its interesting that the Bank of Japan is very aware of this situation and seems, at this time, to be favoring Japanese export companies as exporters can get more yen or dollars for their products in overseas market, which significantly increase Japan's current account.

At the same time, as the Japanese yen, remains very weak and foreign tourist numbers keep increasing in Japan the BOJ is thinking that foreign tourists and the weak yen, which increase the purchasing power of foreign tourists, will be a significant boost to the Japanese economy and the BOJ doesn't really need to do anything about the weak yen at this time.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260710/p2g/00m/0bu/022000c

Japan May Current Account: Ideas Later.

Japan logs 3.97 tril. yen current account surplus in May on firm exports

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan posted a current account surplus of 3.97 trillion yen ($24.2 billion) in May, as the trade balance swung into the black on strong exports of semiconductor-related devices to other parts of Asia and autos bound for the United States, government data showed Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry said in the preliminary report that persistent diplomatic tensions led to a shrinking surplus in the travel balance and a decline in the number of Chinese visitors to Japan, causing services trade to fall into the red.

Japan's current account surplus, one of the broadest measures of international trade, increased by 19.5 percent from a year earlier, marking the 16th consecutive month of surplus. The ministry reported that the growth was driven by expanding returns on securities held by financial institutions and other companies.

Primary income, which reflects how much Japan earned from overseas investments, advanced 2.3 percent from a year earlier to 4.28 trillion yen, it said.

The goods trade balance turned positive, with a surplus of 6.9 billion yen compared to a deficit of 497.1 billion yen the previous year.

Exports gained 14.7 percent, reaching 9.36 trillion yen, reflecting robust demand for chip-related electronics, driven by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence technology.

Imports rose 8.1 percent to 9.35 trillion yen, including crude oil from the United States, as the Japanese government taps alternative sources of fuel and petroleum products due to supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.

The trade deficit in services widened to 10.3 billion yen from a surplus of 130.9 billion yen a year earlier due to a decline in the travel surplus.

According to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of tourists from China in May fell for the sixth consecutive month, plunging 60.4 percent over the year to 313,000, following remarks in November by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Japan's potential involvement in an attack on Taiwan.

Overall, inbound visitors to Japan fell 3.6 percent to 3.56 million and outbound travelers increased 4.7 percent to 1.13 million in May, JNTO said.

A surplus in the travel balance means that spending by foreign visitors in Japan exceeds the amount spent by Japanese residents overseas.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260708/p2g/00m/0bu/018000c

Japan Jan.-June Bankruptcies: Updated July 10, 2026.

Japan bankruptcies in Jan.-June top 5,000 for 1st time in 12 years

Ideas

It's unfortunate that there are so many bankruptcies in Japan now as inflation, and the labor shortage has forced many companies,, especially small companies, to leave the market.

You probably will not find many of the large name-brand companies filing for bankruptcy as they, for the most part always have a lot of resources, not to mention connections, to fall back  on.

Inflation along with the weak Japanese yen has increased import prices and as Japan is a resource-poor country has to depend a lot on imports which means prices for foreign raw materials are going to put a lot of pressure on many small and mid-sized companies which usually have very thin profit margins and really can't afford the higher import prices.

While there are positives and negatives for a government to intervene in a market economy, in this situation it might the right thing to do for the Japanese government to find ways to help these struggling companies as companies are made up of people and families and the pain for many of them might be too unbearable to handle.

Firms with fewer than 10 employees means, for the most part, means they have less resources and probably less connections in the market which means they probably have fewer choices to help them out of their current situation, as unfortunately, it can be a very sad and terrible situation for the 10 or few employees for those companies.

And yes, due to their thin profits margins, and the current labor shortage in Japan, many small companies just can't afford to match the wage increases of larger firms or even medium sized firms which means most likely many of the smaller firms lost employees and were unable to find replacements as they just couldn't afford again to pay the wages needed by many who were looking or needed a job.

The services sector traditionally has very thin profits margins and the reason the mostly hire part-time workers or contract workers and fewer full-time workers as their profits margins just can't handle a large number of regular full-time workers.

And restaurants and food retailers, being service companies, are perfect examples of companies that higher a lot of part-time workers or contract workers and also they just can't pass-on their increased costs to the final retail customer as customers will try to find other places to buy food.

And even more importantly, as inflation continues on in Japan, many consumers are cutting back and not eating out as much and maybe even limiting buy from delivery companies as the prices of food delivery as sky-rocketed in Japan recently.

Yes, almost every region in Japan has seen an increase in bankruptcies as no area is immune from the increase in prices or even the labor shortage affecting all regions.

Once again, it should seem like a good idea, for the good of society, for the Japanese government to try and intervene in some of these bankruptcies without causing too much harm to overall market dynamics. 

But, unfortunately companies entering a market and leaving a market are, some would say, just the normal workings of a market and governments, for the most part, should not interfere too much in it and let the market decide naturally who should be in the market and who should exit the market.

The only problem with that idea, even though its economically sound, is companies, especially small companies, are make up of families and people and bankruptcies can takes a significant toll on families and even communities.

Yes, even small mom and pop companies and companies which might only be a husband and wife, these days, can still feel the affects of what's going on in the global economy and no one in any country or region is immune as the global economy is so inter-connected that everyone can feel the affects of all situations globally.

Unfortunately, as inflation continues in Japan as profit margins are stretched to their limits, and as the supposed labor shortage continues on in Japan, and if the Japanese government can't find ways to be more like the Northern Europeans countries with their significant social networks that help society, Japan might continue to have more bankruptcies is the fuure.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260708/p2g/00m/0bu/026000c

Japan Homes and Heat Stress: Updated July 6, 2026.

Japan survey finds nearly 80% stressed by heat at home as scorching summer looms

Ideas

Japan, the last few summers or maybe longer have had record high summer temperatures and it looks like it's going to be the same again this summer.

Back in around 2005 the Japanese government started a PR campaign called "Cool Biz" as a way to encourage Japanese company workers to go to work without a tie or even a suit jacket and might have suggested companies keep the temperature as a certain level to avoid energy blackouts during the peak work times.

Back in the summer of 2011, just after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region, I was in a Yokohama and even there at Yokohama station metro complex many of the stores in the complex were running their air conditioners at a low level and you could feel they were not on that high to save energy and avoid energy blackouts in the Tokyo area.

Most likely, as always many Japanese consumers are probably, if they can, go to the major metro complex or train station areas which are large shopping areas as a way to avoid the heat at their homes and avoid running their air conditioners too much.

But the problem is, being in Yokohama for many summers on and off, there just aren't a lot of places to just sit for an hour or so to cool down. And even the few coffee shops there don't really have a lot of tables or chairs and they can get filled up very quickly in the mornings and some might stay there for a long time, preventing other consumers from going there.

If a person was to go to landmark tower in Yokohama there are two Starbucks coffee shops and one large coffee shop on the far east side of Landmark where shoppers can stop get a drink and take some time to cool off if needed, but the two Starbucks will again fill up very quickly as people tend to stay there for a while too. And there always seems to be long lines at the two Starbucks during the summer season.

Not to criticize but in South Korea, in Seoul, there seems to be a coffee shop on every corner and even there they can fill up very fast when the summer heat become too much, but in Japan, at least in the Tokyo area, there just doesn't seem to be that many coffee shops were people can go and sit for a while to get out of the heat, have a drink, and cool off some.

So they have to go to the major metro shopping and train station areas where at least can walk around in a cool air conditioned environment and go eye shopping or something to keep from running their home air conditioners all day and all night.

The problem is, as always, is the challenge for the low-income households or families and what they can do and they might to go to the major metro train shopping areas but can they afford to just go there everyday to get out of the heat without spending a lot of money there at the same time.

It has been suggested and very much needed for the Japanese government is going to have energy subsidies for the summer months as most if not all families, expect the upper-income groups are going to be significantly affected by the summer heat.

And unfortunately, as Japan is an super ageing society, there are going to many aged people who are going to be severely affected by the heat and Japanese hospitals and clinics are probably on-call now for a surge in heat related challenges with aged groups.

Again, whether positive or negative many of the major train metro shopping areas in Tokyo just are not designed for people to sit for a long time. Yes, there are a lot of restaurants in the metro shopping areas but they too fill up very fast at 11:00 the starting time for lunch and to be fair they are not designed for people to sit there all day and cool off.

Yes, heatstroke at night is a major problem in Japan and especially for the aged or even those on fixed incomes or even those on low-incomes that can't afford to run their air conditioners all day and all night. 

At the same time, being in Yokohama off and on during many summers, many people would carry simple air coolers in their hand as a way to try and keep cool.

If not yet, some Japanese company, for the good of society, should develop a small and economical air conditioner that families can buy at a very cheap reasonable price to help the aged, the fixed income, and the low-income families that can't afford to run their home air conditioners all the time.

But maybe that's asking too much these days when everything revolves around profits, greed, and what shareholders want every quarter.

Yes, many years ago, when there were few air conditioners open windows and even doors and even homes were all designed to be much cooler than today. But today, with global warming, everything related to the heat and even sun exposure has significantly intensified and what worked decades ago doesn't seem to work these days and expect for many some EU countries, such as France, most people have become used to having air conditioners and now feel like they can't live without them.

Its logical to think that maybe some homes can go back to how they were designed decades ago but to people want to live that way again after they've become accustomed to having air conditioner in their homes, or can they afford to remodel their homes to be more energy efficient and reduce the heat buildup in their homes.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260702/p2a/00m/0na/022000c

Japan Average Wage Increase: Updated July 5, 2026.

Japan's average wages up over 5% for 3rd straight year amid rising prices

Ideas

Wage increases for the third consecutive is good for Japanese workers as maybe after three years of continuous wage increase they will begin to see their disposable incomes increase and maybe begin to spend again in the economy which is very much needed.

At the same time it must be remembered that is estimated that up to 70 percent of Japanese workers don't work for the large name-brand companies which means most probably didn't get the 5.01 percent average that large companies might have received.

Yes, an increase of 16,400 is very good and very much needed as it will go a long way to increasing the disposable incomes of Japanese households and they have been stressed out ever since the pandemic with continued inflation and they have for the most part not been able to really recover completely from the pandemic situation.

But again, it must be remembered that most companies in Japan are not the large name-brand companies but small and mid-size companies and especially the small companies have very thin profit margins and can't afford to increase wages by 5.01 percent. 

Yes, inflation continues to be a challenge in Japan as Japan is resource-poor country which means it has to import much of what it needs and is subject external events such as the Middle East situation and the global price increases that is affecting many countries now.

Again, the wage increases are good and very much needed to try and get Japanese households and consumers to maybe start spending again, but unfortunately the Middle East situation and the increase in prices seem to be a bump in the road that Japanese consumers will have to navigate again, as they have been doing a lot recently.

Yes, most likely many small firms did what they could and probably wish they could have done even more but again most small companies have very thin profits margins and just can't afford to match what the large companies can do as small companies just don't have the resources needed.

Again, it must be noted that Japan is in a supposed labor shortage which means for many workers they have a choice and can maybe leave the small company, unfortunately, which can't increase wages that much and a move to a much larger company which does have the resources needed to increase wages and even try to lure new talent to their companies.

Wage increases of 5.01 percent for large companies and 4.69 percent for small companies, overall it not that much of an differential and even 16,400 for large companies and 12,866 on average for small companies is not that much again of a differential. as 3,544 yen which might not seem like that much., but for some it might be.

So then other factors might come into play such such as benefits, overtime, required weekend work, work/life balance situations at the small or large companies can all play a part in whether a small company employees feel a loss of 3.544 is enough to try and change companies or do all the other variables have an affect on a someone going to larger company or staying at the small company.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260704/p2g/00m/0bu/008000c

Rice Sales in Japan. Update July 7, 2026.

Sales of rice from 2025 harvest to Japan wholesalers hit record low

Ideas

The Japanese rice market, ever since the summer of 2024 challenge, might have shifted the logistics of how rice gets to the final retail customer over the past two years.

It's quite possible rice farmers in Japan have been by-passing the normal  channels and now are using less known cooperatives as a way to make a little more profit from their rice harvests.

The shift or change might not be related to how wholesalers do business but maybe related to what supermarkets want and need now as consumers/customers are demanding a lower price for rice, the main staple in Japan.

Its quite possible conventional stockpiles and conventional wholesalers have kept the price or rice higher now for a little too long and supermarkets and consumers are looking for cheaper less expensive rice as imported rice, which is always a little cheaper.

Whether private-sector rice inventories or government controlled rice inventories consumers and supermarkets are looking for ways to reduce costs and are always looking for the least expensive product on the market, or maybe for supermarkets the most profitable products on the market.

It has been suggested that maybe ever since the summer of 2024 rice market challenge that the rice supply chains were experiencing some kind of a cartel situation where maybe the price of rice was being kept at a higher price as way to benefit a few in the market.

Retail rice prices might be declining but they are probably still too high for many consumers in Japan and especially the lower-income groups which have to spend more of their disposable income on food products than the upper-income groups who probably don't even notice the high prices for rice.

Wholesalers, like all businesses, have profit margins and they need to keep prices at a certain level as long as they can, and they probably are not going to reduce inventories just to discount rice which would not be in their favor and reduce their profit margins.

Rice in Japan is a major staple like milk, eggs, and bread in many other countries and if needed, the Japanese government, for the good of society, should maybe use price controls from time to time to ensure everyone in society has the ability to buy rice as needed.

Of course the challenge with price controls or limiting the increase in the price of rice doesn't benefit maybe the rice wholesalers, the supermarkets, and maybe the rice farmers too, so most likely there are just too many challenges for the Japanese economy to use price controls from time to time.

As always there seems to be competing interests in the rice market supply chain as there seems to be private-sector rice cooperatives and public government controlled rice cooperatives and maybe hundred if not thousands of small rice networks that are all competing in the market for what might be considered a limited amount of profit for everyone involved.

The challenge is, like many supply chains in Japan and in South Korea too, there are are just too many links and too many hoops to jump through before the rice reaches the supermarkets and the final retail customer, which increases the price of the rice at each stop before it reaches the final retail customer.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260701/p2g/00m/0bu/006000c