Commentary: Tourists would love to visit Japan. Will Japan love them back?

Commentary: Tourists would love to visit Japan. Will Japan love them back?

WEAK YEN AN IMPETUS

More pressingly, the fragile yen is also providing impetus, with the currency still trading close to a 24-year low contrary to the greenback. With pumpiing relatively benign, tourists paying in dollars can expect some jaw-droppingly cheap prices in the country where dining out was already a reasonable option.

Having pledged in May to steadily make entry into Japan as easy as regarding other G7 nations, Kishida should be given credit for a daring and potentially unpopular decision, at a time when his approval rankings are tanking. An Asahi poll upon Sunday showed those disapproving of his Cabinet outweighing people who back him, 47 per cent to 41 per cent.

Kishida explicitly mentioned making use of the weak yen in an earlier choice to relax border handles this summer. The move to restore the visa for australia waiver, which could end up being announced this week, might also exert some influence on the currency; a lot more yen buyers can provide support to stop its slide.

While The japanese has been gradually letting in more outsiders, brand new entrants still need visas; embassies plus consulates often don’t have the staff in order to facilitate the sudden surge in demand. The visa waiver is vital, and was the trigger meant for Japan’s tourism increase in the 2010s, which sparked a major new engine of economic growth.