Japan Feb. Industrial Output: Updated April 19, 2026.

Japan industrial output in Feb. falls 2.1% on month on weak autos.

Ideas

Japan is still an economy that is heavily focused on manufacturing and exports, compared to other advanced economies.

And the auto sector leads the industrial output sector as auto manufacturing combined with auto exports is the leading economic driver in the Japanese economy, meaning Japanese economic growth seems to depend a lot Japanese auto manufacturing and exports.

Yes, of course it fluctuates indecisively, as demand is never linear as there are always going to be ups and downs due to many factors including supply chain disruptions, raw material disruptions, machinery maintenance and breakdowns and so on.

But most companies have probably added into their schedules expected disruptions and or they have contingency plans for possible fluctuations.

An economy is very complicated with many sectors and most of those sectors, as suggested in the article might not all grow at the same time, as with the main economic driver sectors, in Japan, such as the auto industry are down, it has a significant effect on economic growth.

The challenge or problem for Japan, even though of course it has tried, it just doesn't have enough economic drivers as the auto industry seems to be the main economic driver and any of sector is just too far behind to impact any difference related to economic growth.

And again, even though there are many industrial sectors in Japan that can contribute some to economic growth, as with most economies, there is no consistency related to continued growth with any of the sectors suggested in the article.

Part of the challenge is Japan just hasn't been able to move any of the smaller industrial sectors into the forefront to being an solid economic driver as these days, compared to years or decades past, it was much easier to try and develop industries or sectors for future economic growth to be considered a significant economic driver.

The global economy, and of course Japan too, is highly inter-connected and any disruption in the global logistics sector can have significant affects on many countries and their economies.

As such unfortunately, the price of many products are going to increase even if a company's products are not directly tied to the Middle East as energy materials and sources can affect everything in the economy, even products that you think have no direct relation to the area.

And yes, the shipping of products to the Middle East is significantly being affected even though those products and autos are manufactured in countries far away from the Middle East, as global shipping is being affected and of course, because of the situation global shipping and logistics costs are going to increase significantly.

The index of production really doesn't have much of an affect on most businesses overall as the most important variable might be supply and demand and energy and raw materials costs which companies watch closely and not the production index.

But at the same time the index of industrial shipments might be an important variable as again, Japan is still heavily focused on exporting and industrial shipments are a large part of the export mix.

Inventories can be both positive and negative and needs to be watched carefully, as if inventories start to trend upward too much it could be an indication that demand is trending down and or demand was not estimated correctly.

And if inventories are trending to the point that companies just can't keep any inventories in their warehouses it might mean they didn't estimate demand correctly and demand is more than they expected.

Have a nice day!

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260331/p2g/00m/0bu/018000c

Japan Feb. Jobless Rate: Updated April 17, 2026.

Japan's Feb. jobless rate falls to 2.6%, 1st drop in 7 months

Ideas:

There is a supposed labor shortage in Japan now which means for the general population finding a job might be easier now than in the past, and it seems now its might be much easier to change jobs to one that might fit more to what you need or want and maybe a better work/life situation.

But maybe globally, not just in Japan, these days getting a new job or even a first jobs requires so much more than just a cover letter and a resume and there seems to be layers upon layers of gatekeepers to go through.

Its interesting that in years past or more importantly decades past, for the most part, companies in Japan didn't lay off workers as their was for the most part a kind of life-time employment situation in Japan. 

But of course as Japanese companies have become more westernized and placed priority on keeping stock holders happy they are now more like US and EU companies and laying off workers as needed.

Also, for a long time, changing jobs or getting a new job in Japan was a very hard and long process, but the Japanese government, most likely because of the so-called labor shortage, has made it easier for workers to change jobs and as such even at 760,000 people left their jobs for supposedly better jobs.

At the same time, as with any economy, it must be remembered, that there are only so many good jobs available and maybe a lot of the best or better jobs have been taken and workers/people who are looking for that somewhat perfect job might not be able to find it and have to look a lot harder to get the best job they can get.

The jobs availability ratio, while it edged up to 1.19 meaning 119 jobs for every 100 jobs, the key is are these really good jobs, with good benefits are are they less than good and maybe don't allow or better work/life experiences that many workers are looking for these days.

What could be happening with new job openings being much less in specific sectors such as wholesale and the retail sectors, is companies in these sectors had to increase wages to attract or keep workers and now their profits margins are so thin that can't afford to hire any new workers.

And its seems to be a problem with the governments push for companies to increase wages but at the same time many of these companies have compromised their profits margins to the point that now they can't hire any more new workers.

In today's global economy no country is an island or no country is isolated to the point that what happens in the Middle East can affect every country in the world and all countries now, because of financial networks, logistics networks, and other networks are all connected so Japan too will see prices increasing even more due to the situation in the Middle East.

At the same time, Japan is a resource-poor country and has to import much of what is needs and as such, as prices have been increasing continuously almost since the end of the pandemic, and the weak yen has also contributed to higher than normal import prices and Japan might see prices going up even more in the future.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260331/p2g/00m/0bu/020000c

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Japan Prefectures and Foreigners: Ideas Later. Updated April 8, 2026.

 

75% of Japan prefectures boosting programs for coexistence with foreigners

Article source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260329/p2g/00m/0na/005000c

Ideas

Japan is in the midst of an epic labor shortage along with an ageing population and a dismal birth rate that is one of the lowest if not the lowest in the world.

But unfortunately, whether good or not so good, for the most part, the powers to be in Japan seems to be tightening immigration and actually letting in less foreign workers into Japan now.

And again, fortunately, the provinces in Japan see the real challenge the real problems and are trying to take steps to do what they can to foster cooperation among foreigners in the their communities and Japan residents.

What is even less that good or whatever, the powers to be have suggested and are going to implement a new law or rule that dictates foreign professionals who want to work in Japan must have a level of Japanese at the N2 level, which is upper middle proficiency in order to get a work visa.

Multicultural existence has been around for centuries in most or many countries but Japan, or some in Japan, don't want mutual existence or even any foreigners or less foreigner in Japan.

It has been suggested that the powers to be, keep suggesting Japan is going to lose its unique culture if there are too many foreign residents in Japan. 

You might ask the UK, with it many different ethnic groups if it has lost it unique ethnic culture or even ask the US, with its even more diverse population has it lost any of its culture, and the answer is no, each foreign ethnic group in the US has its own culture that has easily adapted in the US and with some challenges there should be no reason Japan can do the same in the future, if it hasn't already in many of the provinces.

There are always going to be small pockets of resistance to foreigners in every country, but it seems recently the resistance in Japan has become more pronounced and the powers to be in the Japanese government have been swayed and have become alarmed that there might be too many foreigner in Japan.

How about this example for the future or what might happen in the future if foreign tourists suddenly decide they don't want to visit Japan as Japan has become a place that doesn't welcome foreigners. Japan wants tourists to spend money but they don't want to them to stay or live their and many foreigners can feel it and it could potentially get worse over time.

And then the foreign tourists are going to head to South Korea or even China for their vacation trips as those countries are more willing to accept foreign tourists and even more foreign residents in the future.

Yes, the problem alone is not that Japanese residents don't feel good about foreigners but foreigners need to learn and understand Japan community rules and social norms as much as possible so that they can get along with their Japanese neighbors in the future.

Yes, Japanese rules and customs can be hard to understand but foreigners should at least try to find ways to be a part of their community in Japan and try their best to follow community rules such as when to take out the trash, how to separate the trash on and which days are for which kind of trash.

Again, unfortunately, social media has become a major outlet for negative comments, globally, against anything or anyone that some groups don't like, and Japan has had its share for a long time against some foreign groups in Japan.

The Chinese and South Korean residents in Japan seem to get most of the negative comments as some niche groups in Japan feel they are superior to any foreign group and the residents of China and South Korea seem feel it the most.

Yes increased opportunities for exchange needs to be very important but even more important, which governments can't dictate is the day to day exchanges ordinary Japanese residents might have with foreigners in their communities at the post office, at the supermarket, at the conbini, and at the schools. 

Each group should make an effort to be polite to each other and try to reach out to the other side even if it's just a hello, thank you, or something like that to show they care about each other.

And, not to blame Japanese residents but they should try to improve their English a little bit to be able to communicate just a little in English, and the same with foreign resident in Japan they should try to improve their Japanese communication skills as much as possible too.

Yes multicultural existence is very important as there are many different ethic communities that exist side by side in the UK and in the US too and many other countries too, but unfortunately, Japan, or some groups in Japan, are not willing to accept that multicultural coexistence can actually take place in Japan, as again, there is this mindset in Japan, with some fringe groups, which seem to have infiltrated some in the Japanese government that multicultural coexistence is not possible in Japan, as the Japanese culture is superior to other cultures around the world.

Again, some in Japan, especially some Japanese groups, who think 4 million is too many in Japan and the number should be reduced.

The problem is, and the Japanese governments knows but because some groups have more control over the immigration situation in Japan, there is resistance to increase more foreigners into Japan.

But Japan needs more legal foreign workers as they pay taxes which help with the pension system in Japan which helps ageing Japanese residents and they spend money in the Japanese economy which Japan desperately needs to help grow the economy.

Its a complex situation and to be fair even the US and the UK and other countries are struggling with its own immigration issues but Japan's immigration situation seems to be unique and Japan really doesn't know what is good for itself and or how to really solve the problem.

Have a nice day!

BOJ Kuroda: Ideas Later.

Interview: Ex-BOJ chief Kuroda says policy rate should be raised to around 1.5%

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260329/p2g/00m/0bu/024000c

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Former Bank of Japan chief Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank's policy interest rate should be raised to a "neutral rate" of around 1.5 percent from the current 0.75 percent to address inflation.

Kuroda, 81, who had led unprecedented monetary easing measures under his "bazooka" stimulus during his 10-year tenure at the helm from 2013, said the BOJ could even shift to a tightening stance if a surge in crude oil prices intensifies inflation.

The BOJ "needs to raise (the policy rate) by 0.75 percentage point or 1 point," Kuroda said in a recent interview with Kyodo News. If the bank lifts the rate at the usual pace of 0.25 percentage point, "it could still hike the rate three or four times," he said.

Kazuo Ueda, the successor to Kuroda at the central bank, has said that it seeks to continue raising rates to normalize monetary policy as long as prices and economic activity continue to align with expectations.

"There is nothing wrong at all" if the bank decides on another rate hike at its next policy meeting in April, said Kuroda, who under his tenure as BOJ chief implemented a strategy of unconventional monetary policies aimed at endings years of deflation.

The central bank had introduced a quantitative easing program, followed later by quantitative and qualitative easing with a 2 percent inflation target, and a negative rate policy.

The rise in consumer prices driven by the weak yen and higher import costs prompted the BOJ in March 2024 to raise the key rate for the first time in 17 years, followed by further hikes in July 2024 and in January and December last year.

Reflecting on his time as BOJ chief, Kuroda said bold monetary easing steps were "necessary to beat deflation and to achieve stable growth and full employment."

Whether to shift policy to a neutral stance, which would neither stimulate nor cool the economy, is a sensitive issue under the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a staunch supporter of aggressive monetary stimulus.

Kuroda said that the BOJ should pay close attention to crude oil prices, as they could surge further if the conflict in the Middle East drags on, causing inflation to rise more quickly.

"If the impact is serious, (the bank) may need to accelerate rate hikes or even move beyond neutral to tightening," Kuroda said.

The former BOJ governor also questioned the effects of Takaichi's aggressive fiscal policies, asserting, "There is no need at all to stimulate (the economy), which would only boost inflation" at a time when the economy is holding firm.

As for the ongoing discussions between the government, ruling and opposition parties about eliminating the 8 percent consumption tax on food items, Kuroda said consumers are no longer demanding such a tax break since rice prices are beginning to fall.

There are also no convincing plans to cover the tax revenue shortfall, he said.

Japan Convenience Store Sales in Feb. Updated March 25, 2026.

Japan convenience store sales rise 1.6% in Feb., up for 12 months

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260323/p2g/00m/0bu/036000c

Ideas

The idea of higher spending per customer can be seen it two ways such as prices increased due to the continue inflation situation in Japan which meant customers spent more on whatever they bought. The second reason might be due to the increase in foreign visitors to Japan and as been suggested many foreign visitors are keen to visit some Japanese convenience stores and buy some of the products.

Coffee prices at Starbucks and Tullys at the major coffee chains remain relatively high so its  understandable that Japanese consumers would get the 100 yen convenience store coffee, or what it used to be as Japanese consumers, as anywhere are always looking try to and save money.

Of course the warm weather or any weather that is different than the season, will induce consumes to buy cold drinks and ice cream in the winter or any other product that might that not be in-line with the seasonal weather.

That doesn't mean the normal seasonal weather products are not going to be bought as of course hot coffee will be bought year round and of course ice-americano cold coffee with be bought year round too.

There is significant competition among the seven Japanese convenience stores so of course they will have all kinds of campaigns in Japan to try and get more Japanese consumers and even maybe foreign visitors to enter their stores and buy products.

Japan restaurants and department stores that offer what are called bentos for lunch and dinner are always trying to get mor sales and more customers to buy their products so its no surprise that they might offer larger than normal portions for whatever such at restaurants and even maybe, again, larger bento boxed lunch and dinner offerings to get customers to buy more.

And yes, of course heavy snow and rain might have reduced the flow of traffic into some Japanese convenience stores or conbinis as known in Japan, as because of the snow and rain consumers didn't make their usual daily stop at the conbini.

What's interesting about Japanese convenience stores, is whenever I would go to a conbini in the Yokohama area, which is near Tokyo, I would usually only see foreign students working at the conbini, You could see their name-tags written in katakana with their name  either Chinese, Vietnamese, or some other Asian spelled name. 

That could be a situation where Japanese students don't want to work at Japanese convenience stores or the pay might be too low for what they want as Japanese convenience stores have very low profit margins and can't afford to pay a lot or they just pay the required minimum wage that most likely regular Japanese students don't like and won't work at convenience stores so, as suggested in other articles there are thousands of foreign students now working there at conbinis can't get the regular Japanese student to work there because of the low hourly rate.

Have a nice day!

Japan Firms and Wage Hikes: Ideas Later.Updated March 27, 2026.

Japan firms mark 3rd straight year of over 5% wage hikes: survey

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260323/p2g/00m/0bu/046000c

Ideas

It's good that Japanese companies are finally beginning to give their workers the wages they need to live in an inflation society like Japan these days.

Unfortunately, many Japanese have become too westernized and don't think about the long-term benefits of their employees but only about the quarter to quarter benefits of the stockholders.

At the same time, there is a supposed labor shortage in Japan which means if companies don't increase the wages of their employees some or many potentially could quit and move to another company that is paying higher wages. And now its not uncommon or not a bad thing to quit and change companies in Japan, as it was years ago.

The challenges is many or most of the small and mid-size companies just don't have the needed resources to match the pay of the large name-brand companies in Japan which means up to 70 percent of the Japanese workforce might not get a high enough wage increase that is larger than what is inflation in Japan, which then means consumer spending in Japan is not going to be where it should be to help the economy grow.

The Japanese economy is 90 percent plus small and mid-size companies and not the large name-brand companies that makes the news everyday, which means many or most of these small companies no one hears about but they basically keep the Japanese economy going forward despite, again, all the news the large companies get.

Yes, sustained wage increases will be a real challenge if inflation in Japan also stays above the BOJ 2 percent target level. A company can only give what it can give, meaning if its profit margin is limited, especially for small and mid-size companies they might not be able to do more than a 5 percent wage increase, if even that.

Of course companies in the services sector, with very thin profits margins might not able to give 5 percent as many service companies use just contract and part-time workers at their companies.

An increase of 14, 300 yen per month is something but it might not be enough needed for many workers in small and mid-size companies as maybe their disposable income has been shrinking every year almost since the end of the pandemic, which means their purchasing power in the Japanese economy is not enough to really help the economy grow if they spend or even spend at all.

You can't blame the companies, at least too much, as they too have budget constraints and have to work within their budgets to fit in the needed wage increases for their employees and maybe they would like to offer higher wage increases but they just can't do it without creating challenges for other parts of their company.

Ever since the 2008 financial crisis many companies have begun to use more non-regular and part-time employees as a way to cut costs. The challenge with that is the pay for these two groups is well below what is needed for a so-called living wage meaning they can work a non regular job and or a part-time job and be able to pay their month or weekly bills.

Not all non regular workers are students or those who just want to work part-time or a non regular job but real people with maybe children and maybe working women who need to make a good wage to help take care of their families.

Too many countries and companies treat non-regular workers as second class citizens and the same with part-time workers and some think they have limited skills and shouldn't be paid a real living wage.

A wage increase of 16, 356 yen per month is good and needed but can it be enough to overcome the constant inflation situation in Japan. Only time will tell if there is an increase in consumer spending in Japan, then maybe it is/was enough get the Japanese economy moving again.

If its not enough it will be seen soon enough as for example as the Golden Week holiday period will be approaching fast after the wage increases take affect in April and when May comes around with the Golden Week holiday period if there is an increase or a decrease in consumer spending it might be indicative of how much or even how little the wage increases have helped the economy.

And yes, unfortunately, as usual, small and mid-size companies are only going to get an increase of 12,361 yen per month and it might not be enough to get the 70 percent of workers at the small and mid-size companies to begin to spend as maybe still their disposable incomes are still going to be less than needed to help the Japanese economy grow again.

Have a nice day!

Japan Core Consumer Prices in Feb. Updated April 5, 2025.

Japan core consumer prices in Feb. rise 1.6% on yr, lowest in nearly 4 yrs

Article source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260324/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Ideas

While its good that price increases were less than the BOJ 2 percent target but they might still be too much for some Japanese families, as the their disposable income has been depleted constantly almost since pandemic ended.

And yes, the Iran situation and the strait blockage is potentially going to affect Japan more than some other countries as has been suggested in other articles that have said both Japan and South Korea are going to be the most affected related to the oil crisis in the Middle East.

If you ask the average Japanese household or any household globally, they probably wouldn't have any idea what the consumer price index is, but they know prices and they can see and feel the price increases every time they go to a supermarket, or buy things on Amazon or even Walmart, or even Aldi online.

While subsidies are good for consumers they aren't necessarily good for wholesalers or in this case energy suppliers,  even the government as subsidies potentially can increase the overall government debt and eventually someone has to pay for the subsidies.

Once again, most families, even globally, don't know or really care about a central banks inflation target rate they just care about how much they have and how much its going to cost to buy something.

Inflation rates are oblivious to most consumers as they only want to know how much disposable income they have and how much is something going to cost. They might hear the media talking about this or that related to inflation but in reality it doesn't affect them until they go to the supermarket.

The BOJ might or might not increase interest rates as the new Mid East war might have some affect on their decision and now oil prices are too much for most consumers and businesses and other products are now becoming even more expensive.

But an increase in the key rate might not be able to change much as an increase in the key rate is dependent on consumers and businesses spending less but that might not happen this time.

And yes, strong wage growth, at least for the large-name brand companies might be enough to get the BOJ to at least consider an increase in the key rate.

The problem is, global trade and global logistics situations these days are all connected so whatever happens in the Middle East or whatever happens in China or even in South-East Asian countries is now felt everywhere in the world.

Even though Japan for the most part, is not a heavy car user country like the US it still has a lot of people using cars which means many families or individual consumers are going to be affected by the increase in oil prices.

But companies, train, subways might use oil and gas too for their operations and they too will feel the affects of the price increases. And lets not forget ANA or JAL and the increase in fuel prices for airlines as unfortunately, while some might try to keep prices down, they can only do it for so long before they have to pass-on their fuel increased prices to the ticketed customers at the  airlines.

Releasing stockpiles of course is seen as trying to keep supplies up so that prices won't get out of control. But the problem is energy or oil or gas suppliers think if there is any chance of a distribution they are going to immediately increase prices even if something hasn't happened just yet to protect their profit margins in the future.

In this case subsidies are good and probably needed but there is always a side affect and this case it might the Japanese government having to pay for the subsidies which might increase the overall government debt, which at the present time, might be the highest government to GDP ratio in the world or at least among advanced countries.

No one likes taxes on fuel or gas but sometimes, temporarily, it might be needed, but again consumes dislike fuel taxes and especially those who have cars, and it might actually be an incentive to drive less or not drive at all as public transportation in Japan is more that adequate.

All of the costs, being taxes on fuel, and increases in electricity bills are all major concerns for Japanese households and especially those whose incomes are less than what they should be which put extra stress on them which means they have to find ways to reduce their spending on other areas due the increase in fuel costs or even electricity costs.

Hopefully, as the article suggests this might be the beginning of the end of higher than normal prices in Japan and just maybe inflation will begin subside even more to the point that the average Japanese consumer and their disposable incomes will begin to increase enough that they can actually spend enough in the economy to help the economy grow again.

Have a nice day!

Bank of Japan keeps rate unchanged: Ideas later.

Bank of Japan keeps policy rate unchanged as Iran war complicates next step decision

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260319/p2g/00m/0bu/023000c

Article to be deleted after ideas.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Bank of Japan on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as developments in the Middle East complicate the future path of its monetary policy.

With the Iran war threatening to drive up inflation and dampen economic growth, the central bank is bracing for the upside and downside risks to the price and economic outlooks.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference after its two-day policy meeting through Thursday that he "needs more time" to understand the impact the war will have on the economy.

"We have decided to keep the policy unchanged as risks associated with rising crude oil prices have newly emerged," Ueda said. "We will make an appropriate policy decision next month after examining the new risk scenario and outlook when more data become available."

The bank has been seeking to normalize its monetary policy since it ended unconventional monetary easing two years ago to stably achieve its 2 percent inflation target.

If the central bank continues raising its policy interest rate to tame possible higher inflation at a time when an energy price surge threatens to dent demand, the move could add pressure on growth, while leaving the policy intact could fuel inflation coupled with the yen's recent weakening. A weaker yen increases import costs.

Still, Ueda said more policymakers are aware of the upside risk to inflation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, which also decided to keep its rate steady at its meeting through Wednesday, also warned of higher inflation with Fed chief Jerome Powell emphasizing uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook from the Iran war.

At the policy meeting, the BOJ left the key rate at around 0.75 percent for the second consecutive meeting.

The Japanese central bank lifted its policy rate to a 30-year high of around 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent at its December meeting.

The latest decision to stand pat on the rate was delivered in an eight-to-one vote, with hawkish policymaker Hajime Takata proposing a rate hike to around 1.0 percent.

The nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, in Japan is expected to come under "upward pressure," affected by the rise in crude oil prices, the bank said in a post-meeting statement.

The yen's recent depreciation against the U.S. dollar is also threatening to raise import costs for resource-poor Japan.

The dollar came within striking distance of the 160 yen mark overnight, a level unseen since 2024 prior to the BOJ's meeting, prompting Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama to say Japanese authorities are on "full guard" and ready to consider all possible options.

In the wake of the U.S.-Israeli launch of attacks on Iran, the dollar has drawn buying, as a safe-haven asset in times of crisis. Tokyo shares have also faced steep declines with uncertainties heightening over the effects of the Middle East crisis on inflation and the broader economy.

The war with Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which many oil tankers pass, including those bound for Japan. There has also been damage to liquefied natural gas export facilities.

Soaring crude oil prices will likely push up the prices of many products, from gasoline to plastics. Electricity and gas bills could also rise if liquefied natural gas prices climb alongside oil prices.

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Foreign Visitors to Japan in Feb. Updated March 22, 2026.

Foreign visitors to Japan in February set monthly record of 3.47 mil.

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260318/p2g/00m/0na/041000c

Ideas

Japan is increasingly seeing foreign visitor numbers that rival some EU countries but still have a ways to go to catch Spain and France.

At the same time some in Japan, especially in Osaka and the Kyoto area, now think there are too many foreign tourists as over-crowding has become a major challenge or at least according to some in those areas.

Most likely 99 percent or whatever percent you want to use are polite well-behaved guests in Japan but its always the few that standout that cause problems for everyone that causes local officials to consider ways to reduce foreign tourism in their area.

There are always many stereotypes related to the relationship between Japan and South Korea and of course the WW 2 experiences that South Korea suffered will probably never completely go away but it seems, as far a traveling to Japan, many South Koreans see Japan as a safe place and and an easy place to visit and as the Japanese yen is now weak, it gives South Korean consumers more purchasing power to spend in Japan.

Having lived in South Korea for many years, I often took the Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda flight either by KAL, JAL, or ANA, as the fight was only 2 hours so it was easy to go to Tokyo for a few days a few times a year.

But before the pandemic getting a ticket was very easy but after the pandemic when Japan opened up again in 2023, getting a ticket was almost impossible and the ticket prices had almost doubled from the pre-pandemic time to the post-pandemic period.

Its interesting that US visitors to Japan is setting visitor records as the price for a round trip ticket to Japan and back from the US is easily around $2,000 dollars and with inflation still a challenge in the US who can afford to go to Japan these days from such a far away place.

If you stay a week an add in hotel, food, and buying whatever, you are easily going to spend over $4,000 dollars for your trip, which again, many people in the US really can't afford to spend that much money with inflation being such a challenge in the US these days.

China used to be Japan's largest foreign visitor population but as diplomatic relations between the two countries, again, are now challenged many Chinese are going to other places such as Vietnam and Thailand.

But as my sources in Japan have been saying there are still some Chinese going to Japan but not on group tours but as individuals or families not taking tours but doing things themselves in Japan.

Japan, doesn't seem to get it sometimes, or for this situation maybe they do, as the diplomatic strain between the two countries might, just might have been a deliberate attempt to reduce the number of foreign tourists to Japan or at least from China as a way to reduce the over-crowding situation in the Osaka and Kyoto areas. 

But who knows as the above paragraph might be completely in-correct as what happened between Japan and China is just the latest between the two countries as Japan seems to take 2 steps forward and then 3 steps back with the comments it makes that always seem to upset China.

The new Prime Minister is an ultra conservative, and as such, puts Japan first above diplomatic relations in the region, and it doesn't seem like there isn't going to be any kind of apology or back-tracking on what was said as Japanese official rarely apologize for much of anything these days.

So the strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries appears to be entrenched for now until one decides for business or economic reasons to begin to thaw out the tense situation and things will begin to get back to some kind of normalcy.

Have a nice day!