One reason I got into the inbound travel business after the 3/11 earthquake was the desire to do something socially meaningful after having experienced how easily a disaster can disrupt our lives.
Japan's recessions are not tied to the employment numbers in the same way as they are in the West. Rather, there are deeper systemic problems caused by cultural and demographic problems here.
A Surrey University paper discusses the concept of "food memories" and how past experience with a food significantly affects a tourist's attitude towards trying it again.
Mr. Terry Gou, the CEO of Foxconn Technology Group (also known as Honhai) signed a JPY389bn deal to take control of Sharp, one of Japan's bedrock electronics firms.
The Nikkei newspaper started running articles about the peaking of the inbound tourism income bubble, pointing out that since the end of 2015 there has been a downwards shift in per-visitor tourist spending.
There has been a surge in cash hoardings, with an extra 6.2% ten thousand yen bills going into circulation last year, the highest jump in demand since 2002.
The local operation of Expedia is very Japanese. However, like other "Japanified" foreign-firm branches, they have lost their ability to recognize and respond to external trends.
Would Airbnb's business model be allowed under the new minpaku rules or not? Restrictive provisions of the new rules make it clear that most Airbnb renters will still be breaking the law.
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