Foreign Visitors to Japan: Updated Aug. 20, 2026

Foreign visitors to Japan hit 3.44 mil. in July, new record for month.

Ideas

By now after years of seeing significant increases in foreign Visitors to Japan, foreign tourism might be considered an economic driver as it perhaps now causes an increase in Japan's overall GDP growth. 

But at the same time, there are some in Japan who think maybe now Japan has hit the over-tourism stage in some areas such and Kyoto and Osaka, which is causing some Japanese residents to be unsure of larger increases in foreign tourism in Japan.

It was not too long ago, just before the pandemic that many in South Korea were boycotting Japanese products and traveling to Japan for a short weekend vacation was not very popular.

But as times change, many South Korean don't even think twice about taking a weekend trip to Japan as the flight from Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda is only a two hour flight and now company employees in South Korea can easily extend the trip to three days with a day off on Friday or Monday.

And Taiwan, being just a little farther can do the same too as both Taiwan and South Korea can enjoy greater purchasing power with the weak Japanese yen which means everything is cheaper for them.

Unfortunately, there always seems to be some kind of diplomatic challenge between China and Japan as whether warranted or not Japan seems to be sometimes says things that China doesn't seem to like.

However, even though the Chinese government cautioned Chinese citizens from traveling to Japan, which is like directive not to go, it seems that 482,200 Chinese citizens ignored the supposed order and still went to Japan.

Maybe like Spain and France in Europe, Japan is the new hot spot to go to in Asia as it seems 17 markets set new visitor records which might have been unheard of even back ten years or so ago.

Yes, but the dates might be a little off as the rumor about a natural disaster was actually in the summer of 2024 not 2025, but then again the article might be talking about another possible natural disaster which could be true as Japan seems to get a lot natural disasters and rumors of natural disasters.

While foreign tourism is up there are other areas of concern in Japan such as the new or latest immigration rules which are beginning to turn away those who want to live and work in Japan which maybe many foreign tourists know nothing about.

As Japan wants and needs foreign tourism money they don't want any more foreigners, it seems, living and working Japan at this time. 

Unfortunately, there are always going to be foreign tourists in every country that don't have manners and do things that the local population doesn't like, such as noise and garbage disposal which is very important in Japan and doing it correctly is important.

Yes, foreign tourists should know and understand that they are guests in Japan and should act like guests and be respectful of the local population and its customs and try to do things that the average Japanese citizen would do everyday.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260819/p2g/00m/0sc/035000c

Japan Economy Growth: Update Aug. 24, 2026

Japan economy up 1.1% in April-June on subsidies, private consumption weak

Ideas

Annualized growth at 1.1 percent sounds good but annualized growth is always just an estimate about what could happen if all the variables remained the same for a year, which of course never happens as there are just too many ups and downs that could change in a year.

And yes government spending to help reduce the increase in prices is good but at the same more government spending increases the overall government debt, but at the same time, governments know they sometimes need to step in a help society the best they can.

Domestics demand has always been a challenge for the Japanese economy as Japanese consumers just don't spend like US consumers do or used to do, but demand or consumer spending recently just hasn't been enough to really help the economy that much.

Overall, it seems the Middle East conflict hasn't affected the Japanese economy that much, yet, but overtime is could affect it even more as supply chains become more compromised and Middle East products begin to run low.

Economist, from time to time, like the optimistic and paint as somewhat rosy picture which usually never happens as they like to keep the financial markets happy and not pain a weary picture of what might happen.

An increase of 0.41 percent in private consumption or consumer spending might not be overly positive but it does indicate a level of measured optimism in consumer spending in Japan in the future.

Yes, GDP is made of of consumer spending + business spending/investment + government spending + exports - imports. And when consumer spending is less than good or needed and business spending is also less than needed, governments will from time to time step in and spend more as a way to boost GDP, which seems to be what the Japanese government often lately.

Its good that the government has a subsidiary program to reduce high school tuition and free or reduced school meals as Japanese households now or might have more disposable income to spend in the economy.

While the subsidies for school meals and high tuition was reduced or even made free, it should mean Japanese consumers now have some extra income to either save or spend some of it in the economy in the future.

And yes, unfortunately, Japan has a smoking rate of about 15 percent which means there is still a large number or smokers in Japan but hopefully the tax on heated tobacco products will maybe get some smokers to quit and have better health.

Expectations related to demand and prices hikes are always a risky situation as sometimes projections just don't happen as expected as consumers or even businesses just don't act the way as expected from time to time.

Consumers and businesses, for the most part, don''t like new requirements on whatever and will usually refrain from buying something if it makes their lives less than practical.

Business investments or spending is always a risky situation as you never really know exactly what businesses are thinking and even when or how much they might spend from quarter to quarter.

An increase of 0.5 percent in exports and a 1.5 percent decrease in imports is not that big of a deal as it could have been worse and its quite possible Japan has, for now, dodged a bullet related to the Middle East situation.

Yes, anytime there is a decrease in imports its increase GDP as part of GDP is exports - imports which means imports take away from exports.

Private consumption or consumer spending is always a murky situation in Japan as even though its about half of Japan's GDP, it never seems to live up to being half of GDP and again consumer spending in Japan just doesn't help with economic growth that much these days.

Of course the weak yen and Japan being a resource-poor country has to import much of what it it needs and they weak yen increase the prices of imports which means most Japanese companies are going to pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain, which of course could eventually mean the final Japanese consumer.

While wage increases in Japan are good and needed they is also the challenge with households having to use some or all of the wage increase just to pay their bills which means some or many households have little disposable income left for either savings or even spending in the economy.

And it must be remembered that up to 70 percent to workers in Japan don't work for the large name-brand companies and work for small and mid-size companies which means they didn't get the same wage increase as the large company employees got which they had even less to use in the economy.

Usually whenever consumers know there are going to be price increases in the future they tend to spend now to avoid the price increase later.

That is what happened in Sept. of 2019 when the Japanese government decided they would increase the sales tax from 8 to 10 percent and there was a surge in consumer spending in Sept. before the new sales tax took affect.

However, today, due to already high prices of many products in Japan many consumers are not only cautious but maybe just don't have the extra disposable income to use now due to the possible increase in prices down the road.

The Bank of Japan is a very conservative group and if they don't see the economy in a good enough position now or just a little later they are not going to increase the key rate as they know there are just too many side affects that could cause harm to the economy.

There are always going to be positives and negatives to a key rate increase but for the most part, at least the past decade, the BOJ has erred on the side of caution and they always use to say the Japanese economy was not strong enough at there are just too many side affects and could affect too many businesses and households if we increased the key rate at this time.

However, this is a new BOJ in terms of leadership and it seems they are more willing to increase the key rate as needed, but again, they are very conservative and don't make move quickly as they will study the situation carefully before doing anything.

Have a nice day!

Article source:    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260817/p2g/00m/0bu/009000c

Japan Wholesale Prices: Updated Aug. 16, 2026.

Japan wholesale prices up 7.2% in July amid Middle East tensions, AI demand

Ideas

An increase in wholesale prices in Japan seems to be never ending struggle and wholesalers will no doubt pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply which eventually will be the final retail customer.

The weak Japanese yen, of course is the main variable in the increase in prices as Japan is a resource-poor country and has to import much of what it needs and is constantly being squeeze by global prices fluctuations.

Japanese households have probably felt or seen the increase in prices for a very long time and probably wonder when is it going to end as household budgets are constrained and disposable income gets less and less in many households in Japan.

For the upper middle households or higher, probably the prices increase are only glitch on the radar screen but for the middle income, lower income, and fixed income groups the prices increases can be significant strain on their finances and their everyday lives.

Yes, its quite possible that there might be rate increase in September as the current BOJ seems to much different than the previous BOJ which was very reluctant to increase the key due the idea that the Japanese economy was much to weak to handle a rate increase.

The 2 percent inflation target has been on the BOJ's radar for many years and hasn't been able to do much about it, and probably was hoping that conditions would change naturally which hasn't happened yet.

Its seems despite the interventions of the US and Japan working closely together to try and stem the weak yen, it hasn't really responded favorably in that direction as its still relatively weak and probably is going stay that way for the time being, until Japan's key interest rate is more in line with the US key interest rate.

The US rate, at the present time, stands between 3.5 and 3.75 percent while the Japan rate is at 1.0 percent which is probably causing much of the variance between the US dollar and the Japanese yen at this time.

For a very long time many Japanese companies were reluctant to pass-on their increased costs to the next in the supply chain including the final retail customer as they felt customers were a vital link and they were all in it together, but those days seems long gone as profit margins get thinner and thinner and companies no longer can depend on banks to help them so they have to pass-on their costs to either stay in business or satisfy share-holders who only seem to care about the next quarters' numbers.

Of course the Middle East situation has caused the price of products from that region to increase significantly and prices from the region are probably going to remain high for a very long time unfortunately.

Prices related to products from the Middle East region might not decrease much in the coming months as companies will keep prices relatively high due to the increase in supply chain disruptions the increase shipping disruptions as it all adds up and will remain high companies feel their profits margins can't get back to some kind of normalcy.

Like any product related to supply and demand, AI demand will increase the prices of many products and who knows exactly where it will end as its possible the AI used in products will continue to increase which means prices for products that use AI in them will continue to increase.

Imports prices most likely increased due the fact that the weak Japanese yen has increased the price of import and then add in the Middle East situation which also increased the price of many products into Japan.

For exports, most likely, the US tariff situation, and Japanese cars and products has calmed down and US consumers are back to buying Japanese products again after a period of uncertainty related to the tariff situation.

And yes, as Japan has once again become more of a player related to AI after its companies were for a while not so robust in the AI and semi conductor market as been able been to gain some market leverage and its now in a much stronger position again.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260813/p2g/00m/0bu/024000c

Japan Bankruptcies: Updated Aug, 14, 2026.

Japan bankruptcies in July top 1,000 for 2nd straight month

Ideas

Its unfortunate that any Japanese company has to file for bankruptcy as most likely the company and the employees have families that are significantly affected because of the the bankruptcy.

And its even more unfortunate that probably most if not all of the bankruptcies are related to small Japanese companies due to either labor shortage challenges and or increased cost challenges or both.

It would good, if the Japanese government could find a way to help these small companies with subsidies to help them during this period, but at the same time, some might say too much government help or interference in the market or economy would hinder the overall market or economy situation.

Its unfortunate, but a given fact, that in a market economy, there are going to those who enter the market and those who exit the market and some again would say normal market operations are more fair and just as it signals who should be in the market and who should exit a market.

Whats most unfortunate, if a large well know name brand company was considering bankruptcy but had thousands of employees and maybe thousands more suppliers and contractors, then the government might consider stepping in to help that company as there would thousands of jobs lost and the supply chains would be significantly disrupted.

But there seems to be no one coming to the aid of Japanese small companies with only a few employees or a few hundred employees at the most as they are not that important overall related to large name-brand companies in Japan.

As there is a supposed labor shortage in Japan now many workers know thatAn companies are willing or know companies need to increase their wages to attract or keep workers and its a significant strain on small companies that don't have the resources needed to increase wages and again, there doesn't seem to be much help or relief from the government or even local Prefectures to help small businesses in Japan.

And yes, a weaker yen is causing havoc with imports and increased prices as many companies  now and their profits margins are constantly under stress and it seems like an never ending struggle for many small companies now in Japan.

It seems no matter which industry or sector a small company is in they are under siege and can't seem to get out of it unless, again, they can find a way to get some kind of temporary help from their local prefecture or the overall government.

It might be a little too early to blame some bankruptcies on AI as mismanagement and the use of AI, at this time, could be a major contributor as companies are still learning how to use AI and many still don't know how or what to do with it.

For the service sector, which normally has very thin profit margins increases in labor costs and increases in raw material and energy costs probably caused most of the bankruptcies instead of AI mismanagement. 

Once again, its very unfortunate that any small company has to go bankrupt as again there are people and families involved and maybe, even with small companies, suppliers and supply chains are disrupted one way or another.

The truth is, maybe some of the bankrupt companies should never have been in business in the first place but at the same time, who is to say who should or should be able to pursue their dreams of owning a small company as again unfortunately, due to the mechanics of a market economy, there are going to be some that do well and some that unfortunately have to exit the market.

Have a nice day!

Article source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260810/p2g/00m/0bu/025000c

Japan Current Account. Updated Aug. 13, 2026.

Japan's current account surplus grows 22.5% in 1st half

Ideas

Japan is a major export economy and as such it depends heavily on its current account which is like a country's bank account. A current account surplus is very important for Japan as its also a major fiscal spending economy and needs a lot of income to try and reduce its current high debt.

The Japanese economy needs to have a current account surplus in order to try and reduce its current debt to GDP ratio which is one of the highest among advanced economies but the challenge is the government, in order to try and help Japanese families, keeps spending and or makes new budgets and or uses subsidies to lesson the high energy costs.

Due to the weak Japanese yen, overseas investments is positive now but if the yen were to suddenly become stronger those investments could be less than good for many investors in due time.

Again, the weak Japanese yen, as been able to move the goods trade balance into the positive zone after many months of trying to figure out what is/was going to happen due to the US tariff situation which might have temporarily reduced the amount of goods traded between the US and Japan.

And yes, it seems Japan is back in the game related to chip related electronics as it had lost significant market share to Taiwan and South Korea but has now been able to gain some market share, along the idea that car exports to the US might be back to normal levels.

And imports increased too and it should be noted that the Japanese economy is resource-poor country and has to import much of what it needs which means its subject to global price fluctuations and the weak Japanese yen makes it even worse due to the fact that a weak yen increases the prices of import goods for the domestic economy.

Primary income is another way for the current account to increase which again will or should help reduce Japan's bloated government debt situation but only time will tell if it is really helping reduce the debt.

As the Japanese yen is very weak, it might mean there are not so many Japanese citizens traveling overseas as with a weak yen they lost significant purchasing power which means they have less to spend in whatever country they travel too.

And at the same time, as the yen is weak it means foreign/international tourists going to Japan have more purchasing power which means, potentially, they can spend more in Japan.

Its very possible, that some areas such as Kyoto in the Osaka area have instituted a tourism tax or a tax that tries to alleviate the over-tourism now going on in some areas of Japan and maybe some tourists have now decided not to travel to Japan because of the tourist tax situation.

And its possible, due to the changes in Japan immigration making it harder to emigrate to Japan some people have stopped going to Japan to see what the country is really like.

And then there is the continued Chinese situation where the on again off again diplomatic dispute between the two countries which might hvae reduced the number of Chinese tourists from going to Japan.

The decease in primary income but down 73.7 percent might be sign that overseas investors are now seeing Japan as a good place to invest and a current account deficit, while not good for some might be OK for some too, as the US always runs a current account deficit as it imports are always more than it exports.

But overall, it seems Japan depends on its current account more than the US does and Japan might need it more to try and pay off some of its current debt situation.

Have a nice day!

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260810/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Japan Company Economy Expectations: Updated Aug. 18, 2026.

Half of firms expect Japan's economy to grow amid inflation concern.

Ideas

There is always going to a difference in opinion on how an economy is going to grow in the future and not all companies think the same as small companies might see thing very much differently from how large companies see the economy growing.

Of course the Middle East situation  might be affecting many different companies so there is that aspect that both large and small companies might have the same thinking.

If an company. at the present time, such as many small companies are having challenges of course they are probably going to see things as not good in the future, while those companies that are doing better at the present time are going to see the future being better for them in the future.

And then there is the difference among sectors or industries as some industries will see the positives of the economy and the future while some industries might see the opposite and see the negative aspects of the economy in the future.

There are many reasons for companies to either feel positive or negative about the outlook of the economy in the future such as low consumer spending, an increase in prices, and increases in energy costs just to mention a few that seems to be on mind of all companies, both large and small these days.

Yes, there could be steady growth in the Japanese economy but that steady growth might only be 1.0 or at the best 1.5 percent in the future as the Japanese economy just doesn't grow that much these days and the main culprit is low consumer spending due to higher prices, higher energy costs, and less disposable incomes for Japanese households.

The idea of gradual economic expansion is probably correct as anything more than that might be asking too much for the Japanese economy as at the very best the economy might eek out a 1.5 percent growth but that alone might be expecting too much.

Of course capital spending by some of the larger companies might increase but don't expect anything from the mid-size and small companies as their profit margins are most likely just too compromised for an increase in capital spending in the future in Japan.

Yes, wage hikes have and will help the economy but it must be noted that there might still be  significant variances between the wage increases for large companies and for the small/mid-size companies in Japan which makes up close to 99 percent of all companies which means workers as these companies still are not seeing the benefits that large company workers are.

Consumer spending in Japan is not the same as consumer spending in the US or even what it is in the EU, as in the EU is estimated to be about 52 percent maybe 54 percent and in the US its estimated to be about 68 percent while in Japan is estimated to upwards of 50 percent or more but the spending habits of the respective countries are very different.

The continued decrease in disposable incomes in Japan keeps decreasing among Japanese households and as a result they continue to cut-back on spending and only buy the essentials as needed.

And again, wage increase are good and needed but they were not the same for all workers in Japan which means many had less than needed or expected wage increases which means most likely their disposable incomes, needed for extra spending in the economy is less that what they want or need.

Of course, the large companies such as Toyota and Panasonic are going to be optimistic about there future earnings but the real challenge is what about the future earnings of the 99 percent of the small and mid-size companies in Japan as the large companies get all the news and headlines while the small companies seem to be invisible to most in Japan.

The large companies or most of the large companies in Japan probably have the resources needed to withstand the Middle East situation while the smaller companies don't as there profit margins were/are already compromised even before the Middle East situation began.

For many years, many Japanese companies were very reluctant to increase prices as they used to think those in their immediate supply chains were valued stakeholders and they didn't want to upset even the final retail customers so they absorbed their increased costs but those days seem long gone and Japanese companies seem to be quick to increase prices as pressure from shareholders expect significant earnings now every quarter.

And yes, it's too early to know just how much affect the Kumamoto Prefecture earthquake will have on the Japanese economy and of course the Kumamoto prefecture in Japan.

Of course the intervention by Japan and the US in the foreign exchange market, while not the best strategy, probably didn't really do much to help the Japanese yen from being weak and might at best just slowed it down some from getting weaker.

Have a nice day!

Article source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260809/p2g/00m/0bu/009000c

Japan Household Spending in June: Updated Aug. 9, 2026.

Japan's household spending in June falls 3.3% on year.

Ideas

There are many variables that can cause a change in household spending and not just the weather and a change in temperatures as noted in the article.

There is also the idea of consumer sentiment or the mood of consumers or shoppers that is a major variable that can cause good moods or less than good moods which can increase spending or decrease spending too.

The fact that Japan household spending decreased for the seventh consecutive months by 3.3 percent might indicate that the decrease was by more than the change in the weather but it that could have been a cause that have to be other reasons just as the continued inflation situation in Japan and maybe households were saving up a little for the coming August Obon holiday period or the longer holiday period in September this year.

Of course, yes, the drop in temperatures might have been a reason for the 2.5 percent decrease in beverage sales but what about also if there were increases in the price of beverages and Japanese consumers felt they have become a little too expensive and were cutting back on buying a lot of them.

The 290.886 yen spent by two or more consumers seemed about right but what about the the amount spent by single people or even the lower-income groups as that might be a more accurate metric to see what is really happening in Japan instead of what is happening with the middle income or even high income groups in Japan.

The decrease in dining out is not a surprise as inflation cause decreased disposable incomes in Japan and households or whomever has less extra income to use outside the home and dinning out is always one of the first expenses to be cut from the budget.

And yes, consumable goods, again due to inflation, which is a repeatable expense as they have to be bought often and maybe, again, due to less disposable incomes households are cutting back, as much as possible on not buying consumables as often as before in Japan.

Its seems, not to criticize, but sometimes due to the threat of significant typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis in Japan households are prone or quick to horde or buy things for possible emergency situations which was very evident during the 2024 earthquake scare which saw a surge in the many consumable items which actually caused a temporary shortage of some items and couple with the supposed shortage or rice there was actually a significant rice shorter in Japan too.

And even during the pandemic it was reported that there were were shortages of many consumables such as face masks, tissue and other paper products too during that time, due to hording by some in Japan.

Again, there could have been many reasons for the decrease in spending on transportation and equipment and not just because of unfavorable weather or one fewer Sunday as again inflation and the decrease in disposable incomes might have been the main reason and the less than good weather of course might have been a reason to wait and travel later and save a little more for future travel.

Yes, private consumption or consumer spending is about half of Japan's GDP but at the same time, it seems, Japanese households and consumers are spending less due to the decrease in disposable or extra income and of course due to the continued increase in inflation in Japan these days.

A 2.0 percent increase in real income, while good, is a good estimate but to be fair, what about the income of the lower-income groups too which might be a better indicator or metric about what is going on in Japan.

A description of just the middle-income group or even the upper-income group is not a good description of what is really happening in Japan as just examining to middle and upper-middle groups doesn't give the complete picture of what is happening in Japan.

As again looking at the lower-income groups, the part-time worker groups and even the contract workers groups in Japan might give a complete picture of the state of the economy in Japan and of what is really happening in Japanese society these days.

Have a nice day

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260807/p2g/00m/0bu/005000c