Japan 2025 Industrial Output: Updated Feb. 6, 2026.

Japan's 2025 industrial output rises 0.8%, 1st increase in 4 years

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260130/p2g/00m/0bu/011000c

Ideas

Japan still seems to be a heavy industrial manufacturing economy even though, like most advanced economies has transitioned into a services and technology country.

With that said Japan still seems to think that manufacturing is the key to economic growth, next to China, its still heavily dependent on manufacturing and industrial development.

Because Japan is so heavily focused on the manufacturing of good its hasn't really developed much in terms of software as Japan still relies on the US for much of its software, which has become a major source challenge for the economy and businesses in Japan. 

Auto production in Japan is an economic driver and at this time might be the only real economic driver that improves the economy.

And economic drivers is any economic activity that over the long-term improve the growth of the economy.

Some might say foreign tourism is another possible economic driver as it too has seen record number of foreign tourists going to Japan, but tourism, unfortunately is very susceptible to swings, as for example now there is the supposed boycott of Chinese tourists going to Japan, which China at one time used to be Japan's largest group, being next door to Japan.

The only thing that Japanese producers can do is endure the situation as maybe someday it can get back to some kind of normal or at least a new normal as the phrase was always used during the pandemic as a way to try to normalize the situation.

The tariff situation, unfortunately, is here for another three years and who knows what is going to happen exactly in the future, but companies need to just keep moving forward and stockholders and others just need to be aware that the profits of the companies they invest in might not get the same return as before.

Yes, uncertainty is always going to be there, even in the best of times as their always going to be potential pitfalls in demand, supply chains, material costs increasing and even government interference in some countries to name a few things.

All a company can do is assess the situation the best they can and keep moving forward with maybe focused on less growth or less profits as a way to get through the challenging times.

Inventories are both positive and negatives depending on which side of the coin you like, as for example a decrease in inventories could be demand for a companies products were higher than expected and or the estimate demand was not estimated correctly which happens some times.

And then there is the idea of too much inventory sitting in a company's warehouse or on the docks of a port such as LA or Long Beach in the US, as importers in the US or suppliers int he US don't need as much of the product but the company went ahead and continued to manufacture and send the product to the US hoping demand would change.

And at the same time, high levels of inventories has the potential too signal the beginning of some kind of recession as means for a product or products if it is sector wide might be a challenge for an economy.

The industrial output dropping to 101. 8 doesn't really mean much as there is not that much of a statistical variance other than maybe as December in Japan had a long year end holiday that might have been the reason for the drop in output.

But then again, the US tariff situation and the Chinese economy situation good be having an affect on production and manufacturing in Japan but even with a 2.7 percent drop in November its still not that significant yet.

Yes, production can and does fluctuate indecisively, as there always demand challenges, supply challenges with supply chain breakdowns, material costs increases, and equipment repairs and breakdowns at manufacturing plants.

As there are 15 industrial sectors, like an economy being highly complex, not all industrial sectors are going to be positive at the same time, as again, demand and supply chain challenges have a big say in how much is produced and what gets to the markets either in Japan or globally.

Hopefully, as again as car manufacturing in Japan is the main economic driver, demand for Japanese cars are still in high demand as the Japanese economy depends on the production and sale of cars.

And at the same time, its unfortunate, that Japan has been unable to develop any more significant economic drivers that can help move the economy forward, as it seems back into the late 80's or early 90's it seemed to almost give up being competitive in producing products that appealed to consumers globally.

Also has its very apparent South Korea, Taiwan, and China has replaced Japan as a producer of quality products wanted and needed by consumers globally, as Samsung in South Korea, Asus, and Acer in Taiwan, and now many Chinese quality products are being developed as it seems Japan just doesn't have the will to try and match these products these days that these countries produce.

Again, an economy is very complex and every sector or every industry is not going to be positive all the time as there are always going to be challenges related to demand and supply chain problems but a company has to learn how to overcome the challenges and at the same time but into place ways to overcome the scenarios when they do occur as no sector or no industry or no company is exempt from unexpected challenges.

The industrial shipments being at 98.7 is not really bad but its not really good too as maybe again, the Chinese economy situation and the US tariff situation could have affected the industrial shipment situation in Japan.

And again the inventory situation at 98.3 too is not good but also not bad and the Chinese situation and the US tariff situation might have reduced demand somewhat as maybe there were some supply chain challenges that reduced shipments and increased inventories at some companies in Japan.

Have a nice nice day!

Japan Private Rice Imports: Updated Feb. 11, 2026.

Japan's private rice imports rise 96-fold to hit record high in 2025

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260129/p2g/00m/0na/039000c

Ideas

Ever since the summer of 2024, Japan has had a supposed domestic rice shortage brought on by poor weather conditions and the news in late July and early August of a possible earthquake near the Osaka/ Kobe area which created a massive hording of rice on the market which left Japan at the time with rice shortages and higher than normal prices for the main food staple in Japan.

Before then, before the supposed rice shortage, foreign or imported rice was never that popular as Japanese consumers, up that time again, seemed to prefer Japanese as maybe it tasted better or maybe it was just cultural or even nationalistic idea that Japanese rice is always better than foreign rice.

But the situation has changed considerably as the price of domestic rice has just been too expensive some income groups began to look for rice substitutes and foreign rice was less expensive due to the fact it was not a popular at the time.

And many Japanese restaurants began to use foreign rice too, as even the normal cost of rice before the supposed shortage was creeping up due inflation in Japan, and even other materials needed by restaurants became even more expensive so they too begin to find substitutes to reduce their already out of control profit margins.

Yes, even though, as usual, Japan puts a tariff on foreign or imported rice to try and protect the local rice market, foreign rice was cheaper and again many consumers in Japan from the lower income groups started to buy the foreign rice.

And of course due to the continued inflation situation in Japan with material costs increasing among all businesses including restaurants, they too began to buy large quantities of foreign rice to make their sushi and many convenience stores which make rice balls or what is called onigiri in Japan started to use foreign rice as their profits margins too just became too much to control.

With regard to agricultural products Japan has always been a high tariff country with idea of trying to protect its agricultural market and or protect its farmers from too much outside competition or interference in the Japanese market.

 And yes, the US, as a good example, has always tried to move more into the Japan's domestic market with the importing of more agricultural products and of course US beef but up until recently has not been very successful at significantly penetrating the Japanese domestic market.

And of course the WTO has tired unsuccessfully to get the Japanese to open their markets more but the powers to be just have had to much pressure from the Japanese farm lobbying groups to keep the Japanese agricultural market closed and protected as much as possible.

And yes, in more recent times, Japan has opened up its markets more and the supposed rice shortage that again, hit the domestic economy in the summer of 2024, forced the Japanese government to open more the economy to foreign rice to help alleviate the struggles of ordinary citizens and Japanese restaurants who just could pay the high prices of Japanese domestic rice.

Even though there is was more foreign rice entering the Japanese market doesn't mean all or many Japanese consumers wanted to like foreign rice, as again the preference for food from your own economy or places is always going to b there and there are always going to be those who might not like it just because it foreign.

But, again, convenience stores and restaurants due to the increased costs of many things in Japan have moved away from the expensive domestic rice to using foreign rice for their sushi and rice balls and for the most part, even they might be required to show where they got the rice for the products they make, most likely busy consumers don't read the signs about where the rice comes from as they only want eat and move on.

And yes, Japan relented to the WTO and has begun import a limited amount of tariff-free rice but only a minimum amount as a way to keep the Japanese rice lobby groups happy by not completely opening the agricultural markets in Japan.

And yes, there is certain amount of the foreign or private sector rice that has been designated for both groups, the retail groups and the restaurant groups with both groups are struggling with the continue high price of domestic rice prices in Japan.

Overall, the domestic rice shortage should never had happened in the first place as the powers to be in Japan should have been on top of the situation from the beginning but, as usual, there just might be too many layers in the checks and balances system in Japan and or too many layers of beau racy and no one know what is going on sometimes such as the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing sometimes and decisions that had to be made took too long too to decide, which meant many consumers in Japan went without rice for much of the summer and it never should have happened again in the first place as rice is the main staple in Japan and always will be.

Have a nice day!

Japan Jobless Rate: Updated Feb. 5, 2026.

Japan's jobless rate in 2025 stays at 2.5% as tight job market continue

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260130/p2g/00m/0bu/009000c

Ideas:

Japan has one of the lowest unemployment rates among advanced nations as now there is a supposed tight labor market, more people are getting jobs and or able to change jobs much easier than before.

An economy will never have zero percent unemployment as there are always going to be eligible workers in and out of the job market related to lay-offs, workers quitting, some retired people who later change their mind and re-enter the job market and so on.

Even though there was a record high for employed people Japan still suffers to with a so-called labor shortage and maybe there are some sectors or jobs that Japanese people just don't want to do.

Its like in South Korea, where there are some jobs such as some manufacturing jobs in small companies and or in the farm sector that South Korean workers just won't do so South Korea has to bring in foreign labor or do those kind of jobs.

But it might be the same in the US related to some sectors which can't afford or won't pay high enough wages to get US workers so the have to rely on foreigners and unfortunately illegal aliens to do the work.

Yes as more opportunities are now available for women in the Japanese workforce and of course as inflation has reduced the disposable incomes of Japanese households more women now need to work to make ends meet.

And even more there are more jobs available for the elderly as they either can't afford to retire and or just want to keep working to remain healthy. But at the same time it seems there are many more elderly workers in Japan than some other economies and that might be a sign of how healthy Japanese citizens are compared to other citizens in other countries.

Yes, as in most labor markets or economies there are the unemployed who willing to work and are included as they are part of those who are unemployed but want to work but haven't been able to find work yet.

And yes, there are always positives and negatives in any economic situation such at an economies labor market, which might have some blind spots that might cause some or many to not be employed.

And yes, while an increase in wages is a positive for the Japanese economy at the same time inflation has continued on in Japan which again, as eroded the disposable income of Japanese households.

And there there is the idea that it it estimated that up to to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce don't work for large name-brand companies but small and mid-size companies which can't afford to pay or won't pay the same wage increases that the large companies pay which means again up to 70 percent of Japanese workers might have lower disposable incomes compared to those who work in the large companies in Japan.

Back in the day, maybe yes, maybe no, Japan rarely has layoffs or those who were dismissed except for maybe those working for small and mid-size companies that went out of business.

But today, with Japanese companies and the Japanese economy adapting more western style work concepts lay-offs and those being dismissed seem to be more common today than before.

And up to 750,000 left their job voluntarily is a good indication that there are a lot of jobs out there in job market and workers are taking advantage of the fact that they can easily find a new job and or they want a job with a higher wage due to the continued inflation challenge in Japan.

While 1.22 jobs are available or 122 jobs for every 100 workers might sound positive it must be remembered just what kinds of jobs are available for  workers.

Its quite possible that some or many of the best jobs might have already been filled and those looking for jobs are left with those jobs in small and mid-size companies that either can't afford the kind of wages that workers are looking for or won't pay or increase their wages to get new workers.

Yes, the minimum wage situation might be a negative for most economies except of course for some or many of the EU countries which tend to have better working conditions including better wage for those at the lower end the wage scale.

Japan is now experiencing what South Korea experienced back around 2015 to 2020 as the South Korean government implemented a series of yearly step by step minimum wage increase as a way to lesson the challenges for small and mid-size companies but in the end it was not that much of a success.

What happened was many of the small and mid-size companies, as a way to maintain their profit margins, started laying-off workers, reducing the hours of part-time or low wage workers, reduced the hiring of new workers, and in some case started using robots and or automated pay systems in store to cut costs.

An increase of 0.01 points is not that much or could be considered in the range of statistical variance as that is not much of a real change in jobs availability for any economy.

As far as jobs opening in the education sector that easily can be attributed to after school tutoring companies increasing the number of tutors as Japanese households wanted more tutoring for their children related to the exams needed to get into private schools and or to get into more prestigious universities in Japan.

For the manufacturing sector its quite possible as the US tariff situation seems to have lessened or the affect have lessened more manufacturing companies are now hiring workers to meet the demands for their products.

And or as there is a labor shortage in Japan, manufacturing companies have increased their wages, as needed, to get more workers as some Japanese workers don't want to work in the manufacturing sector so companies had  to increase their wages in order to be the workers they need.

It's quite possible, as with other economies too, many information and communication companies in Japan increased the number of worker they had to meet the demands for their services, but now, as with other economies, many information and communication companies are beginning or have already laid-off many of the workers that were needed during the pandemic, such as Zoom being the prime example and just recently Amazon has laid-off a lot workers too.

For the hotel and restaurant sector its possible too that they over-hired just after the pandemic and as the surge of foreign visitors keep increasing hotels and restaurants continued to hire new workers but now due to increased material and energy costs compromising their profits margins they have ceased hiring new workers and or even began to lay-off workers.

Have a nice day!

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BOJ leaves benchmark unchanged: Updated Feb. 4, 2026.

BOJ leaves benchmark interest rate unchanged at policy meeting

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260123/p2g/00m/0bu/020000c

Ideas

For a long time, the BOJ suggested that the Japanese economy is/was just too weak for any rate increases as it would significantly affect businesses, consumers, households, and even banks in Japan.

While never really mentioned that much the weak Japanese yen has always been seen as a boom for the large Japanese export companies, as the weak yen, improves their profits as at the time significantly improves Japan's current account which the Japanese government uses for many of its programs.

The two percent target rate as been an elusive target for much of the last decade if not longer and it seems while the BOJ might be inching closer to it, its still a target that is not out of reach but at the same time, not achievable just yet.

Most central banks would prefer the inflation rate would be around 2 percent as they feel its at a manageable level and the economy is not overheating and or not stagnating as the flow of money through the economy is a a reasonable pace.

To be fair, over the past decade, or longer, many former Prime Ministers have tried to use stimulus packages to get the economy moving in the right direction but mostly without much success except for maybe in the short-term only.

As the new Prime Minister is a fiscal and monetary dove, it might mean there is going to be more government spending to try and get the economy moving in the right direction and the BOJ's decision not to increase the key rate might have been a result of being influenced by the new Prime Minister not to increase the key rate which potentially could stifle business spending, consumer and household spending.

The Japanese economy is now considered a mature economy which don't grow that much as even at 0.9 percent or even 1.0 percent that would be a significant achievement as the Japanese economy, for many years was in a quasi-stagnant phase with little to no economic growth.

Japanese businesses and investors need to understand that the Japanese economy is not going to grow like China ever again like the US economy ever again as mature economies just don't have the needed resources to grow like emerging economies do and or it takes a significant increase in resources to grow a mature economy like it did when it was a emerging economy.

It sounds like the current language used by the BOJ related to inflation and the global economy,while not really negative, is aimed as not being too pessimistic as it doesn't want to upset the financial markets in Japan or globally too.

And yes, as Japan is a resource-poor country, global prices and the weak Japanese yen is still going to be factor of importers and the domestic economy in Japan in the future despite the BOJ suggesting inflation might get down to 1.9 percent in 2026.

It appears, as usual, the BOJ is still being very cautious and still sees the economy as being too weak to increase the key rate to much as it might affect, again, businesses, consumers, households, and even banks with a too high key rate increase.

There are always to kinds of inflation moving through an economy as its quite possible that might be happening in Japan at the same time. One kind of inflation, which is very common in Japan is inflation related to the increase or prices due to the increase in costs related to energy and raw materials that companies need to conduct business.

The other kind of inflation, which may or may not be that evident the kind of inflation due to increased consumer demand as business will generally increase prices if they see or feel consumers are buying more of their products.

But to be fair, it seems the first kind of inflation, in Japan, recently is what has been happening for a very long time as maybe consumer spending has been less than optimal for the economy.

Again, the BOJ's 2 percent target has been elusive a very long time and there is trying to estimate what is going to happen in 2027 might be too much as a lot can happen in year in an economy as the BOJ's track record related to estimations hasn't been that significant recently.

But then again estimations are not an exact science or an exact statistical measure as there are just too many variables that can change change within a years time.

And yes, for sure, while the new Prime Minister is a fiscal and monetary dove, there might be more stimulus packages that are going to be presented as a way to improve the economy, businesses, and even Japanese households in the future.

The last two sales tax increases in Japan in 2014 from 5 to 8 percent and then in 2019 from 8 to 10 percent were not very popular by Japanese households or consumers as they significantly reduced their spending but of course over time got used the increase in the sales tax.

The increase in the sales tax in 2014 and 2019 were attempts to use the sales tax as a way reduce the already bloated government debt which was among the highest, if not the highest at 250 percent of GDP, among advanced nations, as the sales tax increases have had a minimal effect on the reduction of the government debt in Japan.

And to be sure the weak Japanese yen, while both a positive and negative for the Japanese economy has been maybe more of negative recently as maybe it has affect the domestic economy a more that helping the economy.

Because Japan is resource-poor economy it has to import much of what it needs and the weak Japanese yen, increases the price of import products into Japan, which means importer and wholesalers will and or passing-on the higher prices for import price through the supply chain which of course means even retail customers are seeing significant increase in prices in Japan.

While at the same time, the large name-brand Japanese export companies see significant increases in the price of their products in overseas markets but how much does it really help the domestic economy and the average Japanese household in Japan.

Have a nice day!

Japan Inflation in Dec. Updated Feb. 3, 2026.

Japan inflation rate at 2.4% in Dec. on food costs, above BOJ target

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260123/p2g/00m/0bu/014000c

Ideas

Inflation in Japan has been higher than normal or what it should almost since the pandemic and doesn't seem to be decreasing anytime soon or most likely will be too high or most consumers in Japan for a while.

And yes, at 2.4 percent its above the BOJ's target of 2 percent, which coincidentally is the tragedy rate that most central banks around the world prefer inflation to be at and they feel its at a manageable rate, which keep an economy moving along correctly.

State subsides, which Japan has been using a lot lately to help Japanese households is both a positive and can be a negative too.

For Japanese households subsidies help with a households disposable income which means they potentially have a little more to either save or to spend in the economy.

While a negative means potentially it could increase the already high Japan government debt which is one of the highest if not the highest among advanced economies.

The new Prime Minister appears to be like a fiscal dove which means in the near future there could be more government spending to help the economy with lower interest rates, more government subsides, and additional budgets to help improve the economy and improve the lives of Japanese households, but of course increasing the already high government debt.

Even with a core-core CPI of 2.9 percent it is most likely higher than what most Japanese households want to see as it strips away or decreases their needed disposable income for spending in other areas of the economy or other areas of spending they need to do for their families and homes.

At the same time, at 2.9 percent that is most likely way too high for lower-income families and significantly too high for fixed income families as even a slight increase in inflation can have a major impact on the fixed income families in Japan, as they might have to go without some food or needed supplies for their home situation.

Once again an increase of 6.7 percent is way to high for most Japanese households as it cuts into their already limited disposable income and which means potentially less spending in the the Japanese economy which is sorely needed to help get the economy moving again.

And then there is the weak Japanese yen, which can be both a positive and a negative for the Japanese economy. For domestic economy overall, a weak yen increases the price of imports to Japan, which means importers or wholesalers in the supply chain can and will pass-on the import price increases to the next in the supply chain which eventually will include the final retail consumer in Japan.

As far as being a positive the weak yen increases the profits of Japanese export companies which sell their products in overseas markets which contributes to the Japan current account which like a country's bank account which potentially has the ability to maybe reduce higher than normal Japanese government debt.

The increase in rice prices all started back in the summer of 2024 with a supposed rice shortage and with the news of a possible potential earthquake, which saw Japanese consumer rushing to the the supermarkets to buy up as much rice as they could and or horde as much as they could due to the new of a potential earthquake.

And then there was and is the supposedly continued rice shortage which Japan has not been able to control or has been unable to control the increase in rice prices since the summer of 2024, as all of the strategies the Japan government has tried to get rice prices down has not really worked.

Japan is a resource-poor economy which means it has to import much of what it needs including its energy supply needs. What is still not clear on why haven't the supposed trade agreements it has with oil producing countries and Japan still has to pay for higher oil prices on their energy imports.

Again, government subsidies are sometimes good and of course needed to help but again they can increase debt that a government has but Japan has been using subsidies for so long that maybe they no longer think much about it as it just a normal situation now in Japan.

Maybe the Japanese government keeps trying many strategies to get prices down and at the same time trying to get Japanese consumers to spend more in the economy, but while intentions are good they don't don't seem to be working that much at the present time.

Yes, an increase in the key BOJ rate had the potential to reduce inflation but can it be sustained over the long term or is inflation going to inch back up in the future, as inflation has continually been like sticky prices meaning its stubborn and doesn't want to go down that much or that fast in Japan.

The BOJ target inflation rate of 2 percent has been a target of goal for a very long time but it hasn't been reached or able to be reached as whatever the Japanese government or the BOJ tries to use to get inflation down just hasn't worked.

But to be fair to the BOJ, they really haven't tried to increase the key rate that much as the BOJ as consistently suggested that the Japanese economy overall has just been too weak to handle any sustained rate increases and there are just potentially too many side affects related to a rate increase in Japan.

Wage growth or wage increases seem to be a strategies that the BOJ is counting on to help the the Japanese economy a to grow again and get out of its current stagnation phase but the wage increases which really started again April of 2024 really hasn't had that much of an affect yet.

The reason why the wage increases might not have had that much of an affect is up to 70 percent of the workforce in Japan doesn't work for the large name-brand companies which give the best wage increases while the small and mid-size companies where most Japanese workers are don't give as good a wage increase which means they still feel the affects of inflation and still don't want or can't spend in the Japanese economy as much as the BOJ would like them to spend.

Core consumer prices might have increased 3.1 percent annually which they might have a cumulative affect meaning the previous years increases of consumer prices have compounded over time which makes the 3.1 percent increase feel even more as fours of prices increases for the average Japanese family can be significantly and can greatly reduce their disposable income needed to spend on other things in the economy.

And then again there is the lower-income group and the fixed income group which the compounding of the core consumer prices which even expensive to the point they might have to find substitutes for food or other items they normally buy as they are just too expensive, or unfortunately have to go without.

And again, there is the rice situation in Japan, which never should have happened as rice is a major staple for most if not all Japanese households. Some can blame the weather, some can blame government strategies to reduce prices but whatever has been tried just hasn't worked to bring prices down.

There should have been maybe the use of prices controls, maybe on a temporary basis to control the price of rice for the good of society or at least price controls in supermarkets as needed as again rice is a major staple like milk, bread, and eggs are in western economies and maybe shouldn't be left the the whims of the markets to determine the prices as Japanese society depends on or needs a normal price structure that is not out of their control related to their daily lives.

Have a nice day!

Japan 2025 Convenience store sales: Updated Jan. 31, 2026.

Japan 2025 convenience store sales hit record 12 trillion yen

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260121/p2g/00m/0bu/022000c

Ideas

Japanese convenience stores are experiencing significant growth which is good for the Japanese economy as every little bit helps in getting the economy back to a growth stage and out of its current economic slump.

Just to add some personal experience, which I don't do very much, I am always surprised and amazed whenever I go into a Japanese convenience store and the quality and is second to none and the variety is always significant.

The challenge of course will be to see if the trend can continue as just maybe Japanese convenience store sales are becoming a niche economic driver for the Japanese economy.

It seems that maybe foreign tourists in Japan too has seen how good Japanese convenience stores are and are frequenting them a lot too which might be the reason for the increase in sales for four straight years.

And then there is the practical ideas that Japanese cities are well-planned and they have a significant number of Japanese conbinis or convenience stores which makes it practical and easy to find one and get whatever you and or need without going to a real supermarket.

Not to mention that the food selection in Japanese convenience stores are almost second to none and they can easily rival Japanese supermarkets for a customer's daily needs.

Yes Japanese convenience stores are always finding ways to get customers into their stores as even they face stiff competition from the other 6 rival stores including traditional Japanese supermarkets and department stores.

While this article suggests sales are at a record level it must be remembered or should be remembered that for some convenience stores in Japan all is not well, with maybe some int he rural areas of Japan have challenges finding workers to work the late shifts or even the midnight shifts and young Japanese workers don't want to work those hours.

And then there is the problem of maybe a husband and wife bought into a convenience store franchise and the cost of the products need to stock the store is too high due to pressure form the home office company forcing high prices on the husband and wife team.

The food items at convenience stores in Japan, at least for everyday lunch or breakfast items, are maybe unlimited as they can find almost anything for their lunch and or breakfast needs. 

And many if not of the convenience stores re-stock their fresh good offering daily if not several times a day to make sure the that whenever a customers enters a store there is whatever they need or what related to fresh food is there for them.

Its quite possible that the number of Japanese convience stores have reached a saturation point where there just might be too many stores now and the trend is some stores or some franchise stores are beginning to close or go out of business especially in the rural areas of Japan.

And then there is the idea that maybe some franchise stores operated by a husband and wife team, especially in the rural areas, just can't make the needed profit to keep the store open and or they just can't find enough workers to handle the evening or midnight shifts and needed or required by the home office, as there is a supposed labor shortage in Japan at this time.

But then again sales, most likely in the major metro areas such a as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagoya continue to increase as foreign customers continue to frequent convience stores due to the selection and variety without having to a traditional department store or supermarket.

Have a nice day!

Japan And Foreign Workers at Convenience Stores: Ideas Later.

Top execs at Japan convenience stores stress foreign workers' role as gov't eyes clampdown

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260119/p2a/00m/0bu/025000c

Article to be deleted after ideas: 

Article:TOKYO -- Top executives at major convenience store chains in Japan have spoken out on the importance of foreign workers in the wake of moves by the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to tighten rules relating to foreigners in the country.

In 2025, the number of foreign employees working for convenience store operators Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Lawson Inc. and FamilyMart Co. reached 110,000, making them an indispensable part of the companies' workforces.

Many of the foreign employees working at convenience stores are international students. The student status of residence does not allow work in principle, but if they apply to the Immigration Services Agency for permission to engage in activity other than that allowed under their status of residence, they can work up to 28 hours per week.

We certainly do not see them as cheap labor, but want them to learn in Japan through work, including their studies," said Seven & i Holdings Co. Executive Chair Junro Ito.

Regarding current rules on working hours, Ito expressed understanding, saying, "Rather than letting work interfere with their studies, having the current limit on working hours is OK," but added, "It would be scary for the situation to turn into a form of exclusionism. It's necessary to protect those who are working without any problems."

There have been cases where foreign workers have obtained the necessary status of residence and started operating stores, and Ito says he has heard enthusiastic comments such as, "If Seven-Eleven opens in my home country someday, I want to be the owner of the first one."

In a message to the Japanese government, Ito commented, "Excluding such people is no good. I would like them to consider how Japanese society can coexist with foreigners."

Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu, meanwhile, expressed a sense of crisis about the industry's outlook, stating, "In the future, there will be a global labor shortage, and it will be an age when workers ponder, 'Which country shall I work in?' If they don't choose this country, it will become one where a convenient lifestyle is difficult (because the conveniences store business won't be sustainable)."

The convenience store industry has long faced a serious labor shortage and has been working to streamline operations by introducing self-checkout registers and using artificial intelligence (AI) to place orders and perform other tasks.

Takemasu stated, "We will make proper use of AI, digital technology and robotics to boost productivity. While preparing a work environment that foreigners will choose, we want to raise productivity." The company aims to tap advanced technology and foreign labor. FamilyMart President Kensuke Hosomi noted the government's stance of rushing to tighten regulations on foreigners, cautioning, "General theory should be separated from individual cases in discussions. It's not good to keep moving in the direction of continuing to impose restrictions excessively."

Noting that the convenience store industry is not covered by the specified skilled worker system, which accepts foreign workers with certain expertise or skills, Hosomi stated, "It is extremely important to resolve the shortage of workers, including by adding the convenience story category of retailing to the system."

The number of foreign part-time workers at convenience stores has been increasing each year. According to the three companies, in 2025 Seven-Eleven employed about 52,000 foreign workers, Lawson about 31,000 and FamilyMart about 27,000.

The three executives spoke to reporters on Jan. 6 at a New Year reception hosted in Tokyo by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and two other business organizations.

Foreign Visitors to Japan: Updated Jan. 25, 2026.

Foreign visitors to Japan in 2025 top 40 mil. for 1st time; spending surges to record high

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260120/p2a/00m/0bu/008000c

Ideas

Back in the early 2,000 teens the then Prime Minister came up with the idea of increasing the number of countries that could enter Japan on a visa free entry to increase foreigner spending as way to increase in increase the Japanese economy. 

It seems to have worked and with the Japanese yen being very weak it gives foreign tourists more purchasing power to buy more things in Japan to stay longer in Japan as they technically have more money.

So, while the weak Japanese yen is a positive for foreign tourists and also for Japanese export companies that sell their products overseas it is a negative for the domestic economy as a weak yen drives up the price of import products.

But at the same time, as the weak yen helps foreign tourists to spend more in the Japanese domestic economy it is actually helping that sector too.

With that said, the Bank of Japan has to be very cautious about doing anything to lesson the weak yen as tourism is always a very fragile sector and can change very quickly if tourists see or perceive their purchasing power has been reduced in Japan.

Japan has had up and down relations with China and South Korea for the better part of the last 50 plus years, Every time Japan does something good or positive toward the two countries it finds a way to do something not so good which puts them back into the same frame as before where diplomacy is challenged.

In this case Japan, the powers to be in the government said something about Taiwan that China apparently didn't like so they told their citizens its not safe to visit Japan and as always Chinese citizens being somewhat nationalistic headed what the government said and are not traveling to Japan at this time.

Some might say some areas of Japan have already reached the saturation point and just can't handle any more foreign tourists. Some in Japan has suggested adding a foreign tourist tax to places like hotel in those areas such a as Kyoto where there seems to be too many tourists at time as a way to either dissuade more tourists or using the tourist tax to help pickup trash that foreigners leave on the ground or help with hiring workers to help foreigner in places like Kyoto.

And then there are the ultra nationalists in Japan who are suggesting limiting the number of foreign residents Japan as some areas or places in Japan are weary of foreign residents.

The problem with that approach is, because of Japan's low birth rate and increased ageing society, Japan actually needs foreigners to work in Japan and contribute to the pension system along with spending in the Japanese economy.

But Japan, and the powers to be have resisted, for the most part of opening up immigration enough to really benefit the Japanese economy as some have suggest too many immigrants in Japan will dilute the fragile Japanese culture and all immigrants do is send their money home and not use or spend it in Japan.

Foreign visitors to Japan are good and needed but its not going to really help the Japanese economy as Japan needs more sustained economic drivers such as more immigration strategies that can bring in all levels of skills into Japan and not just focus on the most skilled workers as all workers, if given a chance, can significantly be contributors to the Japanese economy in the future.

Have a nice day!

Japan Bankruptcies in 2025: Updated Jan. 16, 2026.

Japan bankruptcies top 10,000 for 2nd straight year in 2025

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260113/p2g/00m/0bu/029000c

Ideas

There many different ways to look at this at this for example some might see it as  the normal workings of a market economy that is reducing the number of companies within a specific market to bring more equilibrium to the market place.

Another way to look at it is corporate bankruptcies are not just companies but people with families and the loss of jobs could be devastating to them. 

Companies, whether small or large or mid-size are made of of people and made up of families in Japan and it just doesn't affect those working for the companies that might go bankrupt but can affect the entire supply chains, distributors, wholesalers, and customers of a company.

Another way to look at it, is just what is the Japanese government doing to help small and mid-size companies from going bankrupt due to high prices and labor shortages.

Most everyone always seem to focus on the large name-brand companies in an economy but most if not all economics are mostly made up of small companies which are always the back-bone of an economy and Japan is no exception.

Again, some might think or feel just let the market be as it is to control the number of companies within a market and it will determine just how many companies are needed for that a specific market.

And then there is the idea again, that companies are made up of people and made of families that work for the company, which if a company goes bankrupt that means less spending or contribution to an economy or supply chains or networks which can affect thousands of people in a city or country.

At some point the powers to be need to understand that some of the corporate bankruptcies might not just be the workings of a natural market economy but more related to the working of some kind of market power that is influencing the market or market too much causing too much influence on what a market should be.

For example related to prices and materials needed by small and mid-size companies and there its the chance or possibility that large companies are controlling the material network or supply chain which is forcing small companies to have higher material prices that's what the market should be.

And then there is the possibility or chance too that large companies are controlling wages but offering wages that are not natural for a market to dominate hiring within a market and some or many small and some mid-size companies can't afford to match the wages for the large companies which means any workers can't or don't want to work for the small and mid-size companies in that market.

The services sector, including restaurants, have low or thin profits margins and can't afford to increase wages and or can't afford the high prices of materials these days.

As there were 3, 478 bankruptcies in the service sector, some might say there might have been too many service sector companies and the market was just adjusting supply and demand but bring more equilibrium into the market. 

But again that doesn't account for the people of families that were affected by the loss of jobs the closing of a company and how much that will affect the community that the company was involved in.

And then is the construction industry which easily could be related to price fixing and also wage fixing to eliminate some companies with market power within a market.

And the same could be said for the manufacturing as Japan has a large number of very small manufacturing companies with larger companies might having too much market power related to the price fixing of material prices and too with wage fixing which can easily eliminate many small companies in a market.

Again, many of the bankruptcies in Japan were small companies who most likely had very thin profit margins which meant they couldn't afford to increase wages for their current employees or higher new employees at the larger companies attracted most of the workers which left the smaller companies with no employees to hire and or existing employees were leaving for better wages and better working conditions, which unfortunately resulted in many having to file for bankruptcy.

An increase in interest rates, the impact of US tariffs and the deteriorating relations between Japan and China could easily be attributed to the workings of the market economy where the more efficient companies survive and those less efficient go under and a market move more toward some king of equilibrium meaning the potential for lower prices and more normal supply and demand in a market.

But again an economy is not just numbers or nameless companies but people and families where bankruptcies can have devastating affects on an economy or community in Japan and globally too.

The Japanese powers to be need to examine closely the reasons for the bankruptcies and see what they can do to help the small and mid-size companies in Japan that are vulnerable to potential bankruptcies and try to find ways help them stay in business in contribute to the community and market they are involved in.

Helping the small and mid-size companies stay in business is not charity or welfare but its investing in the Japanese economy, the community these companies are involved and the thousands of contacts a company might have in that market for the good of society in Japan.

Have a nice day!