Weak yen welcomes foreign tourists as Japan reopens

Record ID: 1692943

  • Title: Weak yen welcomes foreign tourists as Japan reopens
  • Date: 12th October 2022
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 12, 2022) (REUTERS) KAMINARIMON GATE IN ASAKUSA VARIOUS OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING FOREIGN TOURISTS, WALKING AND SHOPPING ON ASAKUSA'S NAKAMISE STREET SHOPPER PAYING FOR ITEM PEOPLE SHOPPING (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. NAVY ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER, JUSTIN LANCASTER, SAYING: "It's like every store is having a 35 percent off sale. You know, we go into a place and we're used to having the, you know, the yen to dollar be about 100 to one. And so we're used to looking at a price, dividing by a hundred, which is very easy, and my wife and I will go into a store and we'll look and go, 'Oh, this is 50 dollars!' And I got to remember, no, it's actually 30 dollars now, which is, you know, a big difference." PEOPLE WALKING PAST SHOPS (SOUNDBITE) (English) 34-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM NEW ZEALAND AND SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, CHERIE, SAYING: "We probably would've come anyway but it is quite a great thing to have the yen being low. So that's going to help because we're going to do a lot of shopping." PEOPLE WALKING PAST SHOPS SELLING COSMETICS AND SOUVENIRS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) 59-YEAR-OLD U.S. TOURIST, RENEE LANCASTER, SAYING: "We've definitely splashed out on the shinkansen because it's so cost-prohibitive normally, it's so expensive, and we've just been taking it everywhere. So yeah, so we've seen a lot more of Japan this visit and it's because the prices are so cheap." PEOPLE LOOKING AT WINDOW DISPLAY OF KANESOH KNIFE SHOP KNIVES DISPLAYED IN WINDOW VARIOUS OF 57-YEAR-OLD KNIFE MAKER AT KANESOH, MANABU HIRANO, SHARPENING BLADE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 57-YEAR-OLD KNIFE MAKER AT KANESOH, MANABU HIRANO, SAYING: "For us, we're grateful, very grateful for this (Japan’s reopening). It's mainly foreigners who come here. Most days our customers, on average, 70 to 80 percent are foreigners. A lot of repeat customers as well." COUPLE IN TRADITIONAL COSTUMES EATING ALONG STREET 53-YEAR-OLD CROQUETTE STORE CHEF, KENJI YAHAGI, COLLECTING MONEY FROM CUSTOMER AND RETURNING CHANGE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 53-YEAR-OLD CROQUETTE STORE OWNER, KENJI YAHAGI, SAYING: "It's good that foreigners are visiting, but the weaker yen has made goods more expensive. Price of our ingredients are rising and that has become a problem." CROQUETTES YAHAGI RETURNING CHANGE TO CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 53-YEAR-OLD CROQUETTE STORE OWNER, KENJI YAHAGI, SAYING: "Obviously thinking about Asakusa overall, I think it'll really help us if foreign people come visit." PEOPLE WALKING OUTSIDE SHOPS RED PAPER LANTERNS HANGING SCHOOL STUDENTS WALKING PAST TRADITIONAL-STYLE BUILDING PEOPLE WALKING PAST SHUTTERED STORE
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2022 09:42
  • Keywords: COVID-19 Japan dollar economy exchange rate inflation tourism yen
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • City: TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Currencies/Foreign Exchange Markets,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA001162412102022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Happy foreign tourists flocked to Tokyo's Asakusa district on Wednesday (October 12) as Japan reopened its borders amid a fall in the yen against the dollar, bringing it to its weakest level since 1998.
    The dollar strengthened 0.3% to 146.30 yen in Asian trading on Wednesday, after pushing as high as 146.35, a level not seen since August 1998.
    Nakamise street, which leads to Asakusa's Senso-ji temple, a hotspot for visitors to Tokyo, was showing signs of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, with many shops alongside those that sold postcards, snacks and souvenirs still shuttered. But the weak yen could boost tourist spending, which is good news for businesses that managed to weather the storm.
    "It's like every store is having a 35 percent off sale," said Justin Lancaster, an environmental engineer in the U.S. Navy. "My wife and I will go into a store and we'll look and go, 'Oh, this is 50 dollars!' And I got to remember, no, it's actually 30 dollars now, which is, you know, a big difference."
    Knife maker Manabu Hirano said he hoped the return of mass tourism from overseas will boost his business.
    "For us, we're grateful, very grateful for this. It's mainly foreigners who come here. Most days our customers, on average, 70 to 80 percent are foreigners. A lot of repeat customers as well," he told Reuters.
    While the return of foreigners is welcome, the money they bring is far from being a panacea.
    On a side street, 53-year-old Kenji Yahagi is frying croquettes for his mostly Japanese customers.
    "It's good that foreigners are visiting, but the weaker yen has made goods more expensive. The prices of our ingredients are rising and that has become a problem," said Yahagi.
    Japan reinstated visa-free travel to dozens of countries on Tuesday (October 11), ending some of the world's strictest border controls to slow the spread of COVID-19.
    (Production: Tom Bateman)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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