Japan and Foreign Visitors: Updated May 17, 2024.

 

Foreign visitors to Japan top 3 mil. for 2nd straight month in April

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2g/00m/0li/053000c

Ideas:

Tourism in Japan is always a fragile situation. While foreign tourist spend a lot of money in Japan, due to the weak yen, there are challenges with foreign tourists and the idea of over-tourism or too many foreign tourists causing problems in Japan, such as again, over-crowding, not respecting Japanese customs or culture and going to places that cause too much stress for the local population.

Japan is usually a very clean place but it foreign tourists just drop trash on the street or road, for example, it gives a bad impression to the Japanese about foreign tourists. Of course in Tokyo and the Shinjuku area, young Japanese students do the same thing and leave trash everywhere too.

The Bank of Japan knows it has a balancing act to keep the domestic economy and the the tourism economy in a good balance, and if it increases the key interests rate, the Japanese yen could become much stronger, which means it could deter some foreign tourists from going to Japan and spending money.

Its very possible, that some areas of Japan could impose a tourism tax as a way to keep foreign tourists in line and or help pay for the services needed related to all of the tourists, for example that visit Osaka or Kyoto.

Right now, after the latest report of the Japanese economy contracting, inbound foreign tourists might be the only thing keeping the Japanese economy from completely contracting too much, as tourists spend a lot of money in Japan.

Again, if the Bank of Japan does actually increase the key rate, and the US decreases its key rate, and both rates come closer together, in the future, it could cause the Japanese yen to become stronger and then foreign tourists might think the yen has become too much for them and maybe they will think twice about going to Japan, which could cause challenges for some businesses in Japan like the pandemic did.

Its interesting that before the pandemic, there were some not so good ideas in South Korea about Japan, but it seems money solves all situations, a joke, as the weak Japanese yen, helped solve the issues between South Korea and Japan.

China is having it own issue at this time, and maybe the issue with Japanese seafood might be keeping some Chinese tourists away from taking trips to Japan.

To be honest, I never thought much about tourism and Taiwan, but it seems the Taiwanese are keen on Japan too.

While Indonesia and Malaysia are sizable Muslim populations they enjoy many Japanese products in their home countries and they too, despite the far away distance want to experience Japan.

Just what is the breaking point for tourism in Japan, meaning how many tourists can Japan actually handle.

There is talk now, that there are too many tourists in some places and also the idea that some, or many, are not following the rules in Japan and causing considerable challenges for the local Japanese population.

Again, there might be a tourist tax, that will be used to help clean up the streets and other problems that foreign tourists cause, and if they do get to 60 million, which is possible but not probable right away, it might put too much stress on the local Japanese population.

The weak yen is great for foreign tourists in Japan but not so good for Japanese tourists who want to travel to other countries or areas such as the EU and the US.

Have a good day and be safe!

Japan Economy Contraction: Ideas Later

 

Japan's economy contracts annualized real 2.0% in Jan.-March

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240516/p2g/00m/0bu/017000c

Article to be deleted after ideas given.

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 2.0 percent in the January-March period, marking the first contraction in two quarters, as domestic demand took a beating from higher inflation and a halt in vehicle shipments caused by a safety testing scandal at Daihatsu Motor Co., government data showed Thursday.

Real gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2024, adjusted for inflation, declined 0.5 percent from the previous quarter. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a country.

The contraction was widely expected, as economists polled by the Japan Center for Economic Research had expected an annualized real 1.17 percent contraction, or 0.29 percent from the previous quarter.

Analysts say the economy will stage a rebound in the April-June quarter. But it also points out the difficulty the Bank of Japan faces in pursuing another rate hike, as it grapples with the prospect of slow growth, prolonged inflation and a weak yen.

Financial markets expect the central bank to raise interest rates again later this year and pressure could mount on the BOJ to counter the yen's weakness, a byproduct of its dovish stance, by tightening policy.

Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the economy, fell 0.7 percent, down for the fourth straight quarter.

It was the longest losing streak in 15 years, underscoring slackening domestic demand, a critical factor for Japan to strengthen the positive cycle of pay and price hikes that would enable the BOJ to reduce monetary stimulus.

Capital spending dropped 0.8 percent, down for the first time in two quarters. Japanese firms curbed investment in machinery and auto-related items, after a data-rigging scandal at Daihatsu, a Toyota Motor Corp. group firm.

The auto industry is a key driver of the Japanese economy, with the latest GDP data highlighting the ripple effects of the scandal that affected spending by consumers and firms as well as exports.

Exports declined 5.0 percent despite a continued boost from inbound tourism. Imports fell 3.4 percent amid a drop in energy imports.

Nominal GDP increased 0.1 percent from the previous quarter, or 0.4 percent on an annualized basis.

Japan narrowly missed its target of boosting the size of its economy to 600 trillion yen ($3.9 trillion) or more, as it totaled 599 trillion yen, according to the data.

Japan Convenience Stores and Foreign Workers: Ideas Later

 

Over 80,000 foreigners working at convenience stores in Japan

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2g/00m/0bu/063000c

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Over 80,000 foreign nationals work part-time in Japan's three major convenience store chains, data collected by Kyodo News showed Wednesday, in a trend likely to continue amid labor shortages from an aging population.

Foreign workers now represent around 10 percent of the part-time labor force across branches of Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Lawson Inc. and FamilyMart Co. convenience stores, according to the data.

Wednesday marked 50 years since the opening of Japan's first-ever convenience store -- a 7-Eleven outlet in Tokyo's Toyosu area -- on May 15, 1974.

Now seen as an indispensable part of Japanese life, convenience stores largely operate 24 hours a day, selling various food and household products and offering services such as package delivery, bill payment and event ticket purchases.

A Kyodo News survey of the major convenience store operators in April found that 7-Eleven stores had the most foreign part-time shop staff at around 40,000, while Lawson stores had some 24,000 and FamilyMart around 18,000.

According to totals from the Japan Franchise Association, which includes convenience store chain Ministop Co. along with the big three, the number of foreign nationals working at the shops has risen by 1.4 times compared to five years prior.

Data provided by the three major chains shows that while people of many nationalities make up the roughly 80,000 figure, a significant portion consists of Asian individuals from countries such as China, Vietnam, and Nepal.

One of them is 37-year-old Chinese national Lyu Ling, who has worked for multiple convenience stores over the past 10 years.

"At the start, I didn't understand Japanese, so the store manager would help me, and I gradually learned how to speak," she said from her current workplace at a FamilyMart outlet in Tokyo's Ginza high-end shopping district, popular with tourists.

Owing to the large number of hotels in the area, the store sees numerous Chinese customers in the mornings and evenings. "It pleases the customers too if we can interact with them in Chinese," she said.

Some 80 percent of the shop's staff are foreign, an indication of the difficulties some stores have finding Japanese workers.

A manager at one outlet said that "without foreign employees, we don't have enough people to cover the shifts."

Many who apply are international students aiming to improve their Japanese ability through the work, according to data from the three major chains. With the yen's weakness encouraging more overseas visitors to come to Japan, the companies hope that hiring foreign staff will improve communication with the rising influx of inbound customers.

But while the sector marks its 50-year milestone, the number of convenience stores nationwide remains largely unchanged from its fiscal 2018 total of around 58,000 outlets. Each firm is now looking for ways to respond to a changing Japanese society.

"We're no longer in an age where we compete on numbers of stores, but how to improve value at each outlet," said one person connected to the industry.

Japan Irregular Workers: Ideas Later

 

Report on spring labor talks shows Japan's irregular workers mostly left behind

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2a/00m/0bu/027000c

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Article:

TOKYO -- An interim report on spring labor talks in Japan was announced here on May 9 by a group seeking significant wage raises for low-paid, nonregular workers who were largely left out of negotiations that have seen wide-ranging pay increases for permanent staff.

According to the report by the Hiseiki Shunto executive committee, some achievements have been made in this year's annual labor negotiations, but cases of low wages and firms turning a deaf ear to demands have also stood out. Talks on wage hikes for irregular workers are a far cry compared to those for full-time staff, which have reportedly seen achievements including the highest raises yet and employers granting unions' requests in full.

The association, comprised of 23 unions nationwide including mainly single membership labor organizations, called for action such as across-the-board 10% or higher pay raises for irregular workers. The interim findings for this year were announced at a press conference following up on efforts since 2023.

According to the interim report, participating unions requested wage rises from 107 companies. Raises of some amount were granted by 59, but offers of zero were received by 48. Wages for part-time workers at the Beisia supermarket chain were said to be rising by 5.41% on average, and the university students belonging to the union got an hourly raise of 56 yen (roughly $0.36). At major conveyer belt sushi chain Sushiro operator Akindo Sushiro Co., shops with staffers in the association got an average 10.7% raise, or 112 yen (some $0.72), while others, such as cooperative associations and private school unions reportedly also achieved wage growth.

It was reported that a member of the association who works at a Sushiro restaurant in Sendai achieved a raise following a solo strike. She said, "Although there are fewer than 10 union members, I received support for my strike from all over the country, including my hometown, which led to the wage increase." Around 500 people joined strikes against 15 companies, including Sushiro, as they demanded higher wages.

On the other hand, there were reportedly many cases in which union members' demands were ignored or met with offers to keep working at the minimum wage. A Shuppan Union member working for a book publisher brokerage company at minimum wage could not keep his anger under wraps, saying, "There are times when we earn under 100,000 yen (around $640) monthly due to ending shifts early and other factors. Amid rising prices, we can't live on the minimum wage. The company is completely indifferent to the situation of irregular workers."

That man and around 40 executive committee members engaged in a protest outside the brokerage company. Participants conveyed messages including, "Reward the efforts of irregular workers who support the company," and, "Improve wages to allow a decent living."

Between May 1 and May 8, the committee polled irregular workers through an online questionnaire, receiving responses from 251. Among the respondents, 72.5% said their wages have not gone up this year since January. A reported 92.4% said they want wage raises due to economic hardship. Industrial union UA Zensen, which represents irregular workers at major logistics companies and in the food industry, secured pay raises even higher for irregular than regular workers. However, this was overall an exception in the report.

An executive committee member who also co-heads the General Support Union, Kotaro Aoki, said, "Dealing with the spring labor negotiations for nonregular workers makes me wonder where talk of 'high-level raises' comes from. It's abnormal that over 70% of irregular workers' wages are not increasing, and we will persistently work to raise their wages."

(Japanese original by Satoshi Tokairin, Tokyo City News Department)

Japan Stores and AI: Ideas Later

 

More stores in Japan using AI for discounts, other purposes to combat food loss

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240510/p2a/00m/0bu/017000c

Article to be delated after ideas given.

Article:

TOKYO -- Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in supermarkets and convenience stores for pricing and other purposes in Japan.

Starting in May, Aeon Retail Co. will introduce AI for discounting fresh foods such as meat and fish at about 380 stores nationwide. Based on past sales performances, weather conditions, customer numbers and other conditions, AI predicts timely demand on "that day and that time." Based on the product information read from barcodes and the number of items on display, AI will offer an appropriate discount rate.

Aeon Retail began introducing AI for in-store prepared side dishes in 2021 with the aim of reducing food loss and the workload of on-site staff. By selling at prices backed by data, the loss rate has been reduced by more than 10% compared to before the introduction of AI. A spokesperson for the company said, "We would like to consider introducing AI to other Aeon group companies in the future."

Major convenience store chain Lawson Inc. has also begun offering discounts using AI. According to its PR staff, previously, the decision to discount was made by the person in charge at each store, relying on intuition and other factors. As a result, there were cases where price reductions were determined based solely on the number of items in stock, or where prices were lowered more than necessary.

In 2021, Lawson conducted a demonstration test of AI-based discount settings at 65 stores in the Tohoku region, and found that the amount of waste per store decreased by 2.5% on a monetary basis. Thus, the company decided to introduce the system in approximately 14,000 stores nationwide, and has been gradually introducing it since mid-April this year.

The target products are rice balls and boxed lunches that are about to be disposed of, and AI calculates the amount of discount based on sales trends and other factors. The final decision is made by the person in charge at each store.

The use of AI is not limited to discounting. According to Seven & i Holdings Co., 7-Eleven convenience stores and Ito-Yokado supermarkets are using AI in their ordering systems. Ito-Yokado is using AI to purchase processed foods and beverages for all of its stores, helping to improve operational efficiency. A Seven & i spokesperson said, "From the perspective of reducing the workload and improving efficiency, we would like to positively consider introducing AI in situations where we believe its use would be beneficial."

Japan Golden Week Travel: Ideas later

 

Less domestic travelers seen in Japan's Golden Week amid inflation

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240511/p2g/00m/0na/037000c#cxrecs_s

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of domestic travelers decreased during this year's Golden Week holiday period as many residents of Japan refrained from traveling far from home amid rising prices, private sector data showed Saturday.

Based on an analysis of data collected in the vicinity of 60 major train stations across Japan, 53 locations saw the number of domestic travelers drop during the holiday period when compared with a year earlier. This coincided with a surge in accommodation fees due to an increase in inbound tourism backed by the weaker yen.

It was the first Golden Week, a period from late April to early May that contains a number of national holidays, since Japan downgraded the legal status of the coronavirus to the same category as seasonal flu. The holidays came as real wages decreased in March for the 24th consecutive month, the longest decline since comparable data became available in 1991.

The trend of people living in Japan refraining from traveling was prominent in rural cities, the analysis showed. But Fukui in central Japan was an exception and saw an increase of 8.9 percent in the number of domestic visitors compared with last year, the biggest surge among the major stations.

The city along the Sea of Japan coast is one of the stops on the extended Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line that opened in March.

Sapporo in Hokkaido, northern Japan, observed the largest drop at 15.8 percent, with major local cities Sendai and Nagoya also logging double-digit drops.

Kyoto and Tokyo's Shinjuku, while still popular tourist destinations for visitors from abroad, saw a fall of 7.7 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

The number of domestic travelers at the 60 sites totaled around 9.82 million a day on average, down 6.7 percent from a year earlier.

The figure tripled from the same period in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started, while the number fell 26.0 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Regarding the data analysis, Hideo Kumano, chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute's Economic Research Department, said, "People seem to have opted for short-distance trips amid pressure to save money on leisure," adding people cannot drastically cut spending on electricity and food.

Kyodo News came up with the analysis based on population flow data collected by X-Locations Inc. a tech firm based in Tokyo, from GPS data on smartphone apps popular in Japan. It looked into the number of people within a 500-meter radius of major train stations.

Japan Teleworking: Ideas Later

 

Teleworking in Japan shrinks after COVID, hybrid working on rise

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240512/p2g/00m/0li/008000c

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Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The ratio of teleworkers in Japan continued to fall as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes while more turn to "hybrid work" combining remote work and in-office work, a fiscal 2023 government survey showed.

The online survey, conducted by the transport ministry in October and November, found that 5,832 of the 36,228 respondents, or 16.1 percent, worked from home or elsewhere outside the office in the last year, down 2.7 percentage points from the previous survey.

Teleworking became popular during the pandemic under the government's drive to reduce the flow of people to slow the spread of infections, but the ministry noted a slight shift in the trend.

The ratio was 21.4 percent in the fiscal 2021 survey and dropped to 18.8 percent the following year.

The latest survey showed the average frequency of teleworking was 2.3 days per week, unchanged from a year ago.

After the government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 in May last year, roughly aligning it with seasonal influenza, the change in teleworking patterns became notable.

Those working remotely just one day or two days a week rose to 13.5 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, up from 9.5 percent and 14.4 percent between 2020 and 2022 during the novel coronavirus outbreak. In contrast, those who worked remotely five to seven days a week came to 28.7 percent, down from 34.7 percent.

"Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing trend of combining going to the office and telework," a ministry official said.

The survey also suggested that bigger cities have the highest rates of remote working.

By region, the teleworking rate in the greater Tokyo area was 28 percent, followed by 15 percent in the Kinki region covering Osaka and Kyoto, 13.3 percent in the Chukyo region centered on Nagoya, and 8.8 percent in other regional cities.