Tourism and Investment in Japan

COVID-19 cases rise in Japan amid state of emergency, Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to be downsized The Japanese government has decided to add three prefectures to its state of emergency as coronavirus cases continue to rise.   Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on May 14 that he decided to expand a COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and other areas to three more prefectures as infections continue to surge ahead of the Summer Olympics.  Starting on May 15, it will cover Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima in an effort to curb infections and ease the strain on medical systems. The government will also designate three more prefectures as areas where intensive virus measures should be taken which is often called “Manbou”, acronym in Japanese for quasi-emergency to contain the virus.  Daily new cases have been on the rise nationwide in recent weeks reaching more than 6,000 for the fourth straight day as of May 14. The recent spike in new cases forces the organizers of ...

Japan has declared states of emergency for the third time three months before the Tokyo Olympics Japan has declared states of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures on April 23 as the country desperately contain a resurgent coronavirus pandemic three months before the Tokyo Olympics. The measures took effect on April 25 and the government hopes to end it on May 11. Large department stores, shopping malls, amusement parks and movie theaters were asked to close. Restaurants and karaoke parlors were asked to shorten their hours, and serving alcohol was banned. Those measures also hit tourism industry hard. Overseas guests and their consumption plummeted due to the pandemic According to the accommodation travel statistics released by the Japan Tourism Agency, the number of guests in February 2021 was 17.85 million, a decrease of 52% from the same month of the previous year. With government's support measure for tourism industry, "Go To Travel" program bein...

A popular cherry blossom viewing sites around Japan were packed on this Saturday, the first weekend since a state of emergency was lifted for all areas in Japan including Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures.  There were more viewers compared with last week as the cherry blossoms reached full bloom this weekend. Local government officials called on blossom viewers to wear masks and avoid crowds. The cherry blossoms have bloomed as usual, but the resurgence of the tourism industry seems to be a little bit way off.  Tokyu Hotels, a leading hotel chain in Japan, announced that it will close its Nagoya Sakae Tokyu REI Hotel located in the center of Nagoya City at the end of March 2022. Since the number of domestic and foreign tourists has decreased sharply due to the new coronavirus and is not expected to recover soon, Tokyu decided to close this hotel, which was opened in 1984 and is rather aged. The hotel maintained occupancy rate of around 75% before the pandemic, but the re...

Newly infected cases have fallen steadily after the second state of emergency was issued The second state of emergency issued to curb the infection of the new coronavirus has been lifted on March 21 in Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures. This ends all the state of emergency in every parts of Japan. Two and a half months long state of emergency is over from now on after having been extended twice as the number of newly infected people has fallen since the restrictions were imposed.  However, the pace of decline has slowed recently and even rebounded in some prefectures forcing them even to consider issuing its own state of emergency. On the other hand, tourists are gradually returning to the sightseeing spots in prefectures where the state of emergency was lifted at the end of February prior to Tokyo metropolitan area. One of those areas is Takayama City, Gifu prefecture. Tourists return gradually in Takayama city thanks to earlier lifting of the emergency At Takayama, a po...

Ateam engages in entertainment business, lifestyle support business, and EC business Ateam inc., founded in 2000 with its headquarters in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, is an IT company that operates price comparison websites for various services needed in daily life and provides games and useful tool applications for smart devices such as smartphones and tablet devices. Ateam engages in three domains of business which are "entertainment business", "lifestyle support business" and "EC business".  In entertainment business, the company plans, develops and operates games and useful tool applications for smart devices such as “ Hatsune Miku – Tap Wonder”, a new smartphone game starring the Virtual Singer Hatsune Miku and 　 "Revue Starlight", a smartphone game that started as a musical and was followed by a hit anime series, and “BASSA WARRIORS”, a battle RPG where players engage in heart-pounding combat in an expansive fantasy setting.  In the en...

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...