I spent 18 years at Rakuten. I would have guessed Japan's e-commerce penetration was well over 30%. I was wrong by a factor of three.

Only 9.8% of all retail spending in Japan happens online — even as the market grew to ¥26.1 trillion last year (+5.1%).
Compare that to:

🇰🇷 South Korea — 42%
🇨🇳 China — 26.8%
🇺🇸 United States — 20.1%
🇹🇼 Taiwan — 13.9%
🇯🇵 Japan — 9.8%

Books and electronics are already majority-digital (56% and 43%) — but food, drink, and clothing, where most people actually spend their money, are still overwhelmingly bought in person.

The demand for online shopping in Japan isn't small. What's small is how much of the total retail pie has actually moved online — and for cross-border brands, that gap is the opportunity. | 14 comments on LinkedIn

Beyond the exhibition halls, perhaps the clearest message from ProWine Tokyo was that Japan remains unusually receptive to new ideas.

Japanese consumer behaviour is shaped by trust, quality expectations, cultural sensitivity, and long-term evaluation. While many western markets prioritise speed and convenience, often Japanese consumers approach purchases more carefully. They place a strong preference on reassurance, consistency, and product quality.For businesses entering Japan, recognising these behavioural patterns plays an important role in long term success.

While inbound tourists mainly clog up the Golden Route, domestic Japanese travelers make full use of hisho-chi, highland summer resorts.

For most European citizens, the world is their oyster. But for citizens of some African and Asian countries, there's no escaping the visa.

Overseas travel from Japan has been recovering but remains at more than 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels amid a weak yen, a Kyodo News analysis of government data showed Saturday.

Tourism leaders meet in Honolulu to strengthen ties and rebuild Japan travel market.

A survey of 1,000 adults in Japan found that more than 60% had purchased capsule toys or other random goods at least once a month in the past year.

Japanese consumer sentiment retreated significantly in March as escalating energy costs and a sustained depreciation of the Yen intensified inflationary anxieties. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) now finds itself navigating a complex policy quandary: the necessity of tightening monetary policy to stabilise the domestic currency and anchor inflation versus the pressure of maintaining accommodative measures to support a fragile growth environment.

Stay updated with the latest innovations and economic shifts from Japan. Here’s what caught our attention this week:

According to JTB Outbound Travel Report 2025, the market was led by 20s females with the departure rate of 29.4%. Many 30s or older males and females said that they want to travel abroad when the yen becomes stronger.

Increasing the number of Japanese and Indian visitors and their length of stay was foremost on the minds of eight key inbound tour operators who were in region with TTNQ to gain a deeper understanding of Tropical North Queensland experiences. The key senior staff attended a workshop with 14 TTNQ members who gave product updates and had first-hand experiences with some 20 products.

We breakdown the number of billion dollar companies by market cap around the world, highlighting the rise of firms in emerging markets.

Destinations across Southeast Asia and Korea surged in popularity for Japanese tourists during this year’s Golden Week. 🛫

Travelex data highlighted the growing customer demand for several Southeast Asian currencies during the recent holiday season, we saw year-on-year increases in the number of purchases of:

🔹 Singapore dollar, up 23.6% 
🔹 Vietnamese dong, up 19.9% 
🔹 Thai baht, up 18.2% 
🔹 Korean won, up 13.4%.

Jun Otani, Travelex Managing Director - Japan said: “We know from the Travelex Travel Money Insights Report that more than half of Japanese travellers choose to travel overseas with cash for its security and convenience. With Thailand and Vietnam popular destinations and still heavily cash-dependent economies, convenient access to physical travel money is essential, and we’re proud to meet the growing demand among Japanese travellers.”

Read more about the shift in Japanese tourist travel patterns here ➡ https://lnkd.in/e67ikm4t

#WeAreTravelex #Japan #GoldenWeek

Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is implementing a strategy centered on targeted marketing and regional diversification to achieve a goal of record-high 4.5 million Japanese tourists in 2026.

Korean retailers have made the most of the early May holiday period, as their sales soared with a massive flock of foreign tourists visiting the country. Accord

Japan's parliament enacted revisions to the passport law on Friday, lowering application fees in a bid to encourage overseas travel, especially among younger people. The amendments were approved by a unanimous vote at a plenary session of the House of Councillors. The government hopes the move will help to raise…

Government data showed the inflation figure — which strips out prices of fresh food — was in line with the 1.8% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

How Innovation, Collectibles Culture, and Digital Integration Are Driving Demand in Japan

eBay Japan is ramping up its efforts to penetrate the Japanese market by promoting K-beauty. eBay Japan is a Korean corporation wholly owned by eBa

The World's Most Powerful Passports

How does your country stack up?

After spending 25 years in China and now living in Singapore, I’ve seen firsthand how a strong passport can open doors. It makes travel easier, reduces costs, and provides greater freedom for work and leisure.

But, not all passports offer the same advantages.

According to Henley & Partners - The Firm of Global Citizens®, Singapore now holds the most powerful passport, granting visa-free access to 193 countries.

Japan and South Korea follow closely with 190 destinations.

Europe remains strong in the rankings. Germany, France, Denmark, and Italy each offer visa-free travel to 189 countries. Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands are close behind.

Meanwhile, the U.S. passport has slipped. Americans can now travel visa-free to 183 destinations, ranking below the UK, Canada, and Australia.

A decade ago, the U.S. was near the top. Now, it’s losing ground.

A powerful passport means more freedom and opportunity.

How does yours compare?

Graphic courtesy of Visual Capitalist

#Travel #Expat #Passport #Asia #USA #Singapore

「2026年（1月～12月）の旅行動向見通し」のページです。ニュースルームではJTBグループ各社が発信するニュースリリースやお知らせを掲載しております。

Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ) launched a special campaign for Japanese people to discounted prices for local experiences or tours.

Our two-way love affair with Japan is growing ❤️

The strong bond between Queensland and Japan is flourishing, with two-way travel soaring well beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Japan has become #Queensland’s fastest-growing international market, with a 124% rise in Japanese visitors arriving at #BrisbaneAirport, over 2019 levels. Each day there are an average of 236 Japanese visitors arriving through Brisbane Airport (12 months to Feb-25), with Japan now the 5th biggest inbound market for Brisbane Airport (behind New Zealand, UK/Europe, USA and China). This reaffirms the importance of the tourism relationship that has long been central to the state’s international visitor economy.

Meanwhile, interest from Queenslanders visiting #Japan has surged, with a 255% increase in outbound travel vs 2019. Each day there are an average of 494 Australian residents departing Brisbane Airport for Japan (12 months to Feb-25), with Japan now the 4th biggest outbound market for Brisbane Airport (behind New Zealand, UK/Europe, and Indonesia), and overtaking USA and Fiji.

Visitors from the United States are now the third-largest group of international tourists flying into Brisbane, thanks to improved flight connections between BNE and North America.

In the past year, flights by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have joined carriers United Airlines, Qantas and Air Canada in boosting travel across the Pacific.

Learn more here: https://brnw.ch/21wSEO9


#Brisbane #Aviation #Tourism #Travel