Tourism and Investment in Japan

  Investors may infer some implications in data from Electric power companies The spread of new coronavirus infections has affected economic activities in various ways. In particular, prevention measures to contain the virus such as suspension of factory operation and refraining from going out decreased demand for electricity.  Stagnant activities in the industrial and business sectors are promptly reflected in electricity demand. That is why data of electricity demand is considered to be useful information to analyze economic situation.  From this perspective, let’s take a look at consolidated financial results of large Japanese electric power companies for the April-June 2020 period announced by them at the end of July.  According to the announcement by ten major Japanese electric power companies, the demand for electric power decreased and sales fell for all but one. As for incomes, operations in restaurants and factories were slowed leading to decreased profit ...

  Gujo Odori, which has been held in Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture for about 400 years is recognized as one of the three most important traditional bon dance festivals in Japan. It is designated as a Significant Intangible Cultural Folk Asset by the Japanese government.  The dance festival is typically held on over 30 nights from mid-July to the first weekend in September at various venues in the City, with approximately 200,000 people participating every year. In the four nights in the middle of August when most people visit, many tourists and residents wearing cotton traditional yukata and wooden geta sandals join “Tetsuya Odori” dancing from 8 pm to the next morning.  However, this summer the festival was canceled due to the new corona virus pandemic. Gujo City decided to call it off because it is not easy to prevent the infection spreading at the venues, where an unspecified number of people visit. Instead, the city has set up the virtual stage at which Gujo Odori perfor...

Its aerospace business and “Space Jet” were hit hard by COVID-19 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. manufactures and sells heavy machinery worldwide. 　 Starting with ship building, the company provides solutions to a broad range of industries from railways and other transportation systems to the energy sector and space development. Although headquartered in Tokyo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also has factories for its aerospace projects in the Chubu region where many aerospace related companies are located and occupying 50% of share in Japan's aircraft parts and products market.  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been in a difficult business environment recently. The new coronavirus pandemic decreases the profits of the company’s mainstay aircraft parts business. The company is reviewing the development plan for the jet passenger plane "Space Jet," which was originally called "Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ)" as a 90-seat aircraft. It plans to reduce significantl...

Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower on July 31 with the benchmark Nikkei index falling for 6 days in a row to 21,710 yen, down 629 yen. It was nearly 3 percent drop to its lowest level since June as selling spread across the board on stronger yen and weak earnings amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Nikkei Stock Average has fallen below 22,000 yen for the first time in almost a month since June 29.  Dozens of Japanese companies have announced poor financial results for the April-June period of 2020, feeding investor’s anxiety about corporate performance. The accelerating yen's appreciation against US dollar also became a burden on exporting companies. In the Tokyo foreign exchange market, US dollar was traded up to 104.20 yen on the day for the first time in about four and a half months.  The US Gross Domestic Product preliminary figures falling the largest ever was another concern for investors about the future outlook of the US economy. Japanese investors were once again made a...