The Japanese economy showed a greater than expected recovery during the first quarter of this year, supported by the recovery of the tourism sector, which compensated for the recession in some leading economies.
Japan began to take advantage of pent-up demand after the Corona pandemic, similar to what the United States witnessed more than a year ago.
Tokyo waited until last October to remove border controls for foreign tourists, and lifted restrictions on organizing major events earlier this year.
And government data revealed that the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China grew by 0.4% in the three months of 2023 compared to the previous quarter, which is slightly more than expectations.
In China, another major market for Japanese goods, recent economic indicators such as the youth unemployment rate and retail sales have shown a slow recovery.
According to two economists, the main driver of growth in Japan is domestic demand.
The American Wall Street Journal suggested that spending would rise further after the recent wage negotiations resulted in the largest wage increase in three decades.
The pace of inflation in Japan recently slowed down thanks to government measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices and low import prices.
Japanese Economy Minister Shigeyuki Goto said that his country’s economy will likely continue with a modest recovery, supported by higher wages and corporate investment.
In another positive sign, the number of foreign tourists is rapidly approaching the pre-pandemic level, as they spent more than they spent before “Corona”, with each international visitor spending in the first quarter of this year 212 thousand Japanese yen, equivalent to 1553 dollars, which is That’s 44% more than the average visitor’s spending in the same period in 2019, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
2023-05-18 22:00:52
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