Tourism and Investment in Japan

Nagoya Castle visited by more than 2.2 million annually Nagoya Castle is one of Japan's most prominent castles built by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and is designated a National Historic Site by the Japanese government , considered equivalent of being a National Treasure.   It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Chubu region with over 2.2 million visitors annually.  Tokugawa, who won the battle in Sekigahara and opened the Edo Shogunate in 1603 built Nagoya Castle to defend the midpoint of the Tōkaidō route to his base at Edo capital against Osaka Castle, the base of the Toyotomi family, former ruler and a threat to the Shogunate at the time.  Since then, it prospered for 260 years during Edo period as the residence of the Owari Tokugawa family, the head of the “Tokugawa Gosanke”, three privileged branches of Tokugawa family.   Honmaru Palace Its Honmaru Palace, originally used as the administrative office and residence of the first feudal lord of Owari h

The Japanese Cabinet Office announced the assessment of coincident index on February 7, which showed business conditions were worsening for five consecutive months.   It is the first time since the Lehman Crisis that the judgment of deterioration has been so prolonged, indicating a likelihood of a recession.   Looking ahead, uncertainty may deepen further due to the spread of coronavirus cases.   The coincident index, which indicates the current state of the economy, was 94.7 in December 2019, same as previous month at the lowest level since February 2013.   The durable consumer goods index and retail sales were stagnant. Passenger car shipments and sales of home appliances, clothing were also sluggish.   In addition to the fading last minute demand after the consumption tax hike, sales of seasonal products were weak due to the warm winter.   It is feared that infections of the coronavirus originating Wuhan, China and now spreading in Japan will drag down retail, touri

According to trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance, the trade balance, which is calculated as a difference between exports and imports, was a deficit of 1,643.8 billion yen last year.  This is the second year of deficit following 2018 and volume of the deficit increased by about 400 billion yen from 1,224.6 billion yen of previous year.  The US-China trade war slowed down the Chinese economy causing weak demand for products from Japan, reduced exports of auto parts and other products to China.  In addition to the falling exports of automobile parts to China, exports of semiconductor production equipment to South Korea and steel products to Thailand also fell.  As for the monthly trade balance in last December, it was a deficit of 152.5 billion yen, the second consecutive months of deficit.

Takayama’s tourist sites and its history In Takayam city, Gifu prefecture, various beautiful and historical sites remain such as Sanmachi where the rich atmosphere of Takayama castle town still lingers with Edo period houses still remaining and Takayama Jinya that used to be the Edo period government office.  The old town village stands on the east side of the Miyagawa River flowing through Takayama city.  You can see sake breweries and merchants’ houses with latticed bay windows standing in a row. This district was designated as an area of important traditional buildings by the Japanese Government.  Takayama Jinya is a building that was the local governor's office during the Edo period. There once were more than 60 similar buildings in Japan, however Takayama Jinya is the only one left today.  It was said to be in official use from 1692 to 1969. The present building complex is called “Jinya” that includes residential space and storehouses for rice paid as tax. 

Toyota increases income again Toyota Motor Corporation announced on February 6 that its consolidated net income for the fiscal year ending March 2020 is likely to rise 25% year-on-year to 2,350 billion yen.  The financial results which have been revised upward by 200 billion yen from the previous forecast showed Toyota’s impeccable profitability again.  Net profit for the current term from last October to December was 738 billion yen. The weaker yen has helped results to exceed market expectations.  The company forecasts the full-year consolidated sales to reduce 20,000 units in Asia while expects 20,000 more units in North America.  As for Japanese domestic sales, it remained unchanged at 2.24 million units despite of concerns of falling demand after the consumption tax hike.  The decrease sales in Asia is considered to reflect the slowdown in the automotive market, especially in Thailand.  An executive of Toyota said that the impact of the spread of the novel pn

DENSO has been maintaining high dividend   On January 31, Denso Corporation has announced its consolidated financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.  Net income is expected to decrease by 12% to 225 billion yen, revised downwardly by 32 billion yen from the previous forecast.  Additional costs of 42 billion yen for the recall of completed vehicles dragged down its income. Sales in China, India and elsewhere have also slowed down.  Sales are expected to decrease by 2% to 5,260 billion yen, and operating profit to decrease 11% to 280 billion yen.  Among the eight major Toyota group companies including Denso, five companies posted declining profits for the April-December quarter of FY2019 due to the slowdown in the Chinese market and investment cost in developing autonomous driving system.  In addition, Toyota group companies have suspended operations at the Chinese plants in response to novel pneumonia, and are expected not to resume their operation unti

In response to the World Health Organization's declaration of a public health emergency on a novel coronavirus pneumonia started in Wuhan, China, the Japanese government has decided to refuse foreign nationals who have stayed in Hubei, China entering the country.  The decision is based on the Immigration Control Law, and is the first time to apply on a specific country or region.  For the time being, foreign nationals who have stayed in Hubei within 14 days before applying for immigration or foreigners who have a Chinese passport issued in Hubei will not be allowed the entry in principle.  The measure has been implemented since midnight on February 1. Patients of the disease are also forced to stay in the hospital and prohibited from working.  In the Chubu region, multiple cases of infection have been found and numerous inquiries have been sent to telephone consultation counters set up by the local governments.  Those governments also provide consultation on management an