Railway companies are exploring innovative ways to attract more passengers to ride Shinkansen bullet trains by drawing on lessons learned from the decline in passenger numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) has introduced a chartered train service that allows passengers to rent a single train car on the Nozomi Shinkansen running between Tokyo and Shin Osaka. This service enables passengers to personalize the car's interior and even rent crew member uniforms. Additionally, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has launched a train car designed for passengers to hold phone conversations and online meetings while commuting. JR Tokai's chartered train service, offered in collaboration with major travel agency JTB Corp. and others, allows passengers to rent a train car for various purposes. These packages were conceived by a group of young employees during an in-house competition for new projects. The proposal, titled "We'll make your hopes ...

Preparing for life after the COVID-19 pandemic has been a topic on the minds of many people around the world. With mask mandates and social distancing measures being the norm for the past three years, people have had to adapt to a new way of living. As the world starts to return to some sense of normalcy, many are beginning to think about the changes that will come with it, including the removal of masks in public spaces. In Japan, a group of 37 people, including the elderly, recently took a lesson in smiling to help prepare for this transition. The smiling lesson was held in the Akabane district in Tokyo’s Kita Ward on May 7, one day before the reclassification of COVID-19 to a less-severe category that includes the seasonal flu. The instructor for the lesson was Keiko Kawano, a 49-year-old smile trainer. According to Kawano, people have had fewer opportunities to smile due to mask-wearing becoming the norm, and many people have developed a complex about their smiles as a result. ...

Japan has taken a significant step towards becoming a cashless society, registering a record 111 trillion yen ($830 billion) in cashless payments in 2022, a substantial increase from the previous year's 95 trillion yen. This marks the first time Japan has surpassed the 100 trillion-yen mark for cashless payments, and the trend is expected to continue as the government actively promotes it. This shift towards a cashless society has been driven primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced opportunities for making cash payments. The Japanese government is also promoting cashless payments to reduce the costs of transporting currency, and they have set a goal of having cashless payments account for approximately 40% of all expenditures by 2025.   According to the Japanese economy ministry, cashless payments accounted for 36% of all expenditures in Japan last year, with credit card payments accounting for the highest portion at 93.8 trillion yen. Code payments, including t...

Japan Sets Ambitious Target to Attract $750 Billion in Foreign Investment by 2030 Japan has unveiled a new action plan to attract more foreign investment and talent in an effort to boost economic growth and enhance its global competitiveness. The government aims to attract 100 trillion yen (approximately $750 billion) worth of foreign direct investment by 2030, which is more than double the 46.6 trillion yen of foreign investment recorded at the end of 2022.   The plan, which aims to capitalize on the country's weak yen to attract foreign investment, also seeks to attract more foreign workers and entrepreneurs, including remote workers commonly referred to as "digital nomads." The move comes as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine highlight the need to strengthen supply chains and ensure national security.   The action plan outlines strategic areas for investment, including semiconductors, digitalization, green technology, and healthcare. To ach...

On its 40th anniversary, Tokyo Disneyland celebrated its milestone by welcoming visitors with colorful celebrations featuring Mickey Mouse and other iconic characters. The theme park, located just east of Tokyo, opened its doors in 1983, welcoming 20,000 people on its first day, according to Oriental Land Co., the operator of Disneyland. Since then, the theme park has expanded continuously, adding popular attractions such as Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. The construction of nearby JR Maihama Station and several hotels in the area also encouraged steady growth before the opening of neighboring theme park Tokyo DisneySea in 2001.   As of March last year, the total number of visitors to the two parks had surpassed 800 million, according to the company. Over time, the theme parks have produced die-hard fans who make several trips a year to enjoy seasonal parades and purchase limited-edition goods for big events, such as Halloween and Christmas. The parks have also come ...

In recent months, the Japanese tourism industry has seen a resurgence following the relaxation of pandemic restrictions, with over 1 million arrivals for the third consecutive month in February. To support this growth and address the challenge of a declining population, the Japanese government has been encouraging companies in the tourism sector to digitize their operations.  Hong Kong's Klook and Taiwan's KKday are two startups that have recognized this potential for growth in Japan and are already helping to drive the industry into the digital age via online sales to replace paper tickets and reservations recorded in notebooks. Klook and KKday officials report that they already earn the biggest portion of their revenue from tourists in Japan, and they are seeking to expand their presence in the country by targeting older or smaller businesses that are less computerized than major hotels and airlines. In particular, the lodging industry in Japan is dominated by smaller busin...