China News Service, April 24, according to Japan's "Oriental New News" report, affected by the new crown epidemic, the Japanese retail industry suffered a severe winter. The latest data released by the Japan Department Store Association shows that in March, the turnover of department stores nationwide in Japan was 340.3 billion yen, a decrease of 33.4% compared with the same period in 2019. At the same time, the total number of international and domestic passengers at Kansai Airport in March decreased by 79% compared with the same period in 2019.
On the evening of April 16, local time, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially announced that he would extend the scope of the "Declaration of Emergency" to the entire territory of Japan, and will last until May 6. The picture shows a man in Tokyo, Japan, wearing a mask and walking in the rain on an empty street.
According to reports, the latest data released by the Japan Department Store Association shows that in March 2020, the turnover of Japanese department stores nationwide was 340.3 billion yen, a decrease of 33.4% compared with the same period in 2019, showing a downward trend for 6 consecutive months.
Under the new crown epidemic, the implementation of the "Declaration of Emergency Situations" across Japan has reduced the number of people going out, shortening the business hours of department stores, and increasing the number of stores temporarily closed in Tokyo. Judging from the situation of 41 major stores in Japan, the sales in the first half of April compared to the same period in 2019 have been reduced to 65%, and the decrease in April is expected to be greater than in March.
According to the Japan Department Store Association, not only is the situation in big city department stores severe, but small city department stores that are temporarily closed or open on limited floors are also increasing. "The impact of the epidemic on the department store industry will probably continue in the long term."
On the other hand, the Kansai Airports operating company Kansai Airports issued a quick report on the 24th. In March 2020, the total number of passengers on the international and domestic lines of the airport was only 620,000, which was a significant decrease compared with the same period in 2019. 79%. At the same time, the number of passengers in 2019 was 28.76 million, which was 2% less than the previous year.
Kansai Airport is the gateway to the Kansai area where Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara are located. This area has always been a popular tourist destination in Japan. However, since 2020, affected by the new crown epidemic, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan and domestic passengers have decreased significantly.
According to the data released by the Japan Tourism Agency on April 15, in March 2020, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan decreased by 93% compared with the same period in 2019 to only 193,700.