Japan Tourism Hit By China Dispute and Dollar Falls Below 78 Yen

Above, tour boats in Nakasaki.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Japanese tourism industry is being hit by a double-whammy.

First, Sino-Japanese tensions are growing over a territorial dispute over a group of small East China Sea islands. This dispute between China and Japan is causing a flurry of cancellations of Chinese tour and hotel reservations in Japan. This move by the Chinese government unfairly punishes the Japanese tourism industry as tourism businesses have nothing to do with the matter.

Next, the dollar faltered against the yen in Tokyo today.  This makes Japanese vacations and goods more expensive as the dollar is not buying as much yen in exchange as it did a few years ago.

Jiji Press reported:

Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)--The dollar fell below 78 yen in Tokyo trading Tuesday, as investors snapped up the yen as a safe-haven currency, chiefly against the euro, amid lingering concerns over the course of the global economy.
 
At 5 p.m., the dollar was quoted at 77.76-76 yen, down from 78.07-11 yen at the same time Monday.

It appears that neither of these problems will be resolved anytime soon.