Inbound demand is recovering.
In the three months to September, foreigners who visited the Japan spent about 1.39 trillion yen in Japan, surpassing the pre-pandemic consumption in the three months and reaching a record high.
According to an announcement by the Japan Tourism Agency, the amount of money spent in Japan by foreigners who visited Japan in the three months from July to September this year was 7.9 trillion yen. The highest amount spent in the three-month period was 3,1.3904 billion yen from April to June 3, before the pandemic, but it exceeded this to a record high.
The background is thought to be the rapid recovery in the number of foreigners visiting Japan and the recent depreciation of the yen, and the average per capita consumption is 2019,4 yen.
By country and region, consumption growth was 6.1 times higher in the Philippines, 2673.1 times in South Korea, and 21 times higher than in the same period in 1000.
China, on the other hand, has seen a marked slow recovery, with a 2019% drop from the same period in 2, although the ban on group travel was lifted in August.
As a result, the amount of consumption by foreigners from January to September will be about 18.2 trillion yen, and the focus will be on whether it will exceed the government's annual target of 09 trillion yen.
In addition, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, an estimated 2,8,2019 foreign tourists visited Japan last month, recovering to 40% of the same month in 1 before the pandemic.
Knives are popular "high quality"
Recently, knives and other cutlery have become popular among foreign tourists visiting Japan, and it seems that the high quality and Japan food boom are behind them.
At a long-established knife specialty store in Taito Ward, Tokyo, about 9% of shoppers are foreigners from Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia, and other countries. On average, more than 1 groups visit the store, and the store's sales are about 100.2019 times higher than in 1, before the spread of the new coronavirus.
According to the store, foreign tourists tend to purchase products with high unit prices, and many people buy multiple knives for about 5,1 yen each, including those for family and friends. The store offers a free service to engrave the name and year of purchase in katakana and Chinese numerals on the purchased blades, which is gaining popularity.
A woman in her 2s who visited from Australia who bought six knives said, "I feel that the quality of Japan knives is high.
Seiichi Kamata, CEO of Kamata Blade Laboratory, said, "It's been 6 years since our founding, but our sales have been the first since our founding. I hope this continues."
Expert: "This momentum will continue for a while"
Professor Takehiro Sataki of Josai International University's Faculty of Tourism, who is an expert on tourism policy, explains the background to the record high spending of foreign tourists, "There are many foreigners who are interested in Japan culture, but they come to Japan at once to buy related goods and other goods, probably because of the reaction to not being able to go to Japan for several years due to the new corona. As a result, the amount of shopping has increased, and the amount of consumption may be increasing."
On top of that, he commented on the future outlook, saying, "Chinese tourists have not fully returned yet, but the purchasing power of other countries is also increasing, so this momentum may continue for a while as the yen continues to depreciate."
On the other hand, he points out, "Considering that many hotels for the wealthy are foreign-owned, it is necessary to take a sober look at how much the Japan economy is actually profitable, and it is important not to be bound by the perspective that hotel prices are rising overall Japan, making it difficult for people to use them, and that it is not enough to just increase the amount of consumption."