Tourism and Investment in Japan

A manufacturer of digital home electronics, automobile-related equipment and precision pressed parts Muto Seiko Co., headquartered in Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, has been manufacturing plastic molded parts and plastic precision parts worldwide since its establishment in 1956. Muto Seiko offers plastic parts for digital home appliances, such as digital and video cameras.  It also produces center panel units for automobile-related parts including car navigation system, air conditioner, audio as well as molds for injection molding and presses. It has production bases both in Japan and overseas for the company’s integrated production system of mold design, mold manufacturing, plastic molding and assembly of the final process. A factory adjacent to the head office in Gifu serves as a mother factory for overseas production bases in China and Southeast Asia.   COVID-19 pandemic dented Muto Seiko’s profits As for the current business performance, the spread of the new...

Nikkei surge reminds investors of bubble era high On February 15, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average has finally breached 30,000 yen for the first time since August 1990, after it has repeated to hit record highs on several days in February back up through levels not seen since the collapse of the bubble economy.  Having positive outlook for the medium to long term, overseas investors who have been late to buy stocks are jumping into the market driving up stock prices. Looking at the announcement of financial results for the first three quarters of the current business year, which began in earnest in February, rebounding sales and profits of domestic companies centered on the manufacturing industry became more apparent.  The planed vaccination rollout of the new coronavirus and expectation for continued stimulating fiscal policy are also revitalizing economic activities and support optimistic outlook for the future business performance. On February 12, barrage of financial res...

Consumer confidence got worse due to COVID- 19 resurgence According to the consumer confidence survey released by the Cabinet Office, the consumer confidence index in January, which indicates consumer sentiment, fell 2.2 points from the previous month to 29.6, falling for the second straight month.  This survey is carried out every month to gain a quick understanding of shifts in consumer perception as a tool in evaluating economic trends and is composed of four categories such as " Overall livelihood" based on a five-level evaluation of the outlook for the next six months. If all survey respondents answer that "get better", the indices will be 100, and if all of them say "get worse", it will be zero.  Consumer sentiment has cooled again following the resurgence of the new coronavirus infection and the issuance of another state of emergency in the month targeting 11 prefectures including Tokyo. All four survey categories decreased from the previous year....