New Services Targetting Budget Travellers

With low-cost carriers such as Jetstar Japan and Airasia Japan starting operations at Narita Airport this summer, new services for budget airline users are increasing.

Bus companies, hotels and travel agencies have been adding services, for example, for people who catch early budget flights.

Three domestic budget airlines performed well during the Aug. 10-19 Bon holiday period, when many people travel to their hometowns by plane. The average seat-occupancy rate was 94.3 percent for Peach Aviation, 91.2 percent for Airasia and 89.5 percent for Jetstar.

"We had a large number of family customers [during the period]," a Jetstar spokesperson said.

Keisei Bus Co. and Narita Airport Transport Co. recently began services to take people to and from the airport late at night and in the early morning, when budget airlines schedule their flights. The bus companies also started a service between Narita Airport and JR Tokyo Station in tandem with the beginning of Jetstar's service on July 3.

The bus departs from JR Tokyo Station at 1:30 a.m. and arrives at Narita Airport at about 4:30 a.m., enabling customers to catch a low budget flight at around 6 a.m.

The one-way fare is priced from 1,000 yen to 2,000 yen, but discount 800 yen tickets will be available by the end of September to attract budget airline customers who are seeking low prices.

On Aug. 17, Airport Transport Service Co., which operates limousine bus services, began early morning services that start from JR Tokyo Station and JR Shinjuku Station.

Meanwhile, hotels near Narita Airport expect increased demand from people traveling on early morning budget airline flights.

Narita Excel Hotel Tokyu is offering a discount deal targeting budget airline customers, in which people can stay at the hotel for 3,500 yen if they check out by 5:30 a.m. The hotel offers customers a free bus transfer to Narita Airport.

While the hotel originally planned to stop offering the deal at the end of September, it decided to extend it until March next year due to its popularity.

In July, Hotel Nikko Narita and Narita View Hotel started free early morning transportation services to the airport.

Some travel agencies have begun cooperating with budget airlines.

For example, while customers must apply for H.I.S.'s domestic package tours at least 10 days before their departure if flying with a major airline, H.I.S. allows people who use budget airlines to apply for such tours just one day before their flight.

JTB Corp. offers packages at low prices when they include flights with Jetstar Japan. For example, a two- or three-day Hokkaido package tour including Jetstar flights is priced from 16,300 yen to 36,800 yen.

"The packages using Jetstar are 30 to 50 percent cheaper compared to similar deals that use major airlines," a JTB spokesperson said.


http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T120824003671.htm

Summer Holiday Numbers Up

Airline and railway passenger numbers during the Bon holiday period rose from a year before, according to company reports.

The total number of domestic flight passengers was up 1.3 percent to 2.98 million, and that of international flight passengers came to 490,000, up 10.3 percent.

The number of passengers on Shinkansen and local limited express services of JR companies increased 5 percent to 13.27 million.

Both Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways suffered year-on-year drops in their passenger numbers on domestic flights, but three low-cost carriers enjoyed occupancy rates of over 80 percent, helping push up the overall domestic number.

The strong yen led to the substantial increase in international flights, according to the airlines.

With bookings for August flat for JAL and ANA, one official said people may have switched their summer holidays to different periods.

JR companies with Shinkansen services reported increases in the number of Shinkansen passengers. Passengers on limited express services grew at all the six JR firms.

In particular, the Tohoku Shinkansen line saw record passenger numbers.

A JR East official attributed the rise to travel related to reconstruction efforts after the March 2011 disaster.

West Japan Railway Co. and Kyushu Railway Co. saw a large increase in passengers on their Shinkansen line, which opened in March last year and connects Shin-Osaka Station and Kagoshima-Chuo Station, as they increased their services during the Bon holiday period

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120821003687.htm

July - Department Stores Sales down 3.3%

 July sales for members of the Japan Department Stores Association fell to 575.9 billion yen, down 3.3 percent from a year ago on an existing store basis.

This year, stores launched their summer sales at different times and economists watched with interest the effect this had.

Data released Tuesday by the association shows all major department store chains experienced a fall in sales of between 1 percent and 3 percent. Economists said companies are likely to continue their trial-and-error efforts as a result.

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. pushed back the start of summer sales from July 1 to July 13.

The company believed that if its stores sold goods at ordinary prices for a longer period in July, when there is peak demand for summer clothing and miscellaneous goods, the stores would make more profit.

Even though the company's sales in July fell 2.3 percent from a year ago, a spokesman said, "We could convince consumers that seasonal goods should be purchased at original prices."

Isetan Mitsukoshi plans to further delay the launch of next summer's sales to around Aug. 1, and is thinking about pushing the winter sales back from Jan. 2 to Jan. 18.

Sanyo Shokai Ltd., an apparel maker and retailer, also pushed back the start of its main summer sales to July 13.

The company's July sales fell 7 percent from a year ago, but the selling of full-priced goods nearly doubled. A company official said, "This improved our profit rates."

Sogo & Seibu Co. and Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. left their July summer sales unchanged.

Takashimaya Co. had two sale stages for different kinds of goods on July 1 and 13.

An official of a major department store chain said, "Many customers found it difficult to understand when the sales would start and the campaigns as a whole lacked steam."

Takashimaya will revert to July 1 for the start of next summer's sales.

Department store summer sales used to begin in mid July but were pushed forward because of intensifying competition.

It is uncertain whether changes to the starting times affects profits.

But Osamu Goto of A.T. Kearney Inc., a business consulting firm, said, "Even if there are no short-term effects, the changes raised questions about how department stores should operate."


http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T120822003648.htm

Q2 (Apr-Jun) Growth slows to 1.4% annualised; lower than US

The Japanese economy slowed more sharply than expected in the April-June quarter as exports and consumer spending lost steam, raising the specter of further deceleration for the rest of this year.

Japan had stellar growth in the first quarter on stepped-up government spending on rebuilding in areas battered by the March 2011 earthquake and incentives to boost sales of fuel-efficient vehicles.

But fiscal policy appears no longer enough to offset the growing impact of Europe's persistent debt crisis and the resulting global slowdown on Japan's export-reliant economy.

"Support from fiscal policy is expected to gradually decrease from now on," said Ryutaro Kono, chief economist at BNP Paribas. "At the same time, any rapid recovery in the world economy is difficult to expect, making it very likely for exports to remain sluggish for a while. We expect the pace of recovery to slow in the second half of this year."

Japan's gross domestic product grew at a price-adjusted annualized pace of 1.4% in the April-June quarter after the previous quarter's revised 5.5% expansion, according to data released Monday by the Cabinet Office. It was slightly below the U.S.'s second-quarter growth rate.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444184704577586571592877602.html

Tokyo police chief promotes anti-gang legislation at J-League match

The superintendent general of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department raised a “red card” to criminal organizations on Wednesday evening prior to a J-League cup match, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 8).

Tateshi Higuchi offered a ceremonial kick of a soccer ball from the sidelines in front of an estimated 10,000 spectators to begin a quarterfinal match of the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, featuring F.C. Tokyo against Vegalta Sendai, at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu City, Tokyo.

Legislation that went into effect on October 1 of last year prohibits business transactions between ordinary citizens and members of organized crime, such as the paying mikajimeryo (protection money). The law is in effect nationwide.

In February, a declaration signed by J-League chairman Kazumi Ohigashi formally indicated that “anti-social forces,” or organized crime syndicates, are banned from associating with the league’s clubs, players, and referees.


http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2012/08/09/tokyo-police-chief-promotes-anti-gang-legislation-at-j-league-match/

Of course, it curious what they make of the owner of J2 team http://www.fcryukyu.com/ Nobuyuki Sakakibara - a colorful character - maybe only a yellow card?

http://www.fightopinion.com/2011/02/08/where-are-they-now-nobuyuki-sakakibara/
http://www.fightopinion.com/2012/03/26/pride-five-years-later/

A short search of the web produces some other interesting background on Nobuyuki Sakakibara's yakuza connections -

http://www.scribd.com/doc/46533478/Miro-Mijatovic-v-Pride-FC-Nobuyuki-Sakakibara-Yamaguchi-Gumi
激突！ ミロ・ミヤトビッチ vs 榊原社長 PRIDE FC 山口 組

Population falls for third year; pace increases

Japan's population fell by 263,727, or 0.21 percent, from a year earlier to 126,659,683 as of March 31, marking the largest annual drop and a fall for the third consecutive year, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said Tuesday.

The previous record drop — 134,450 — was last year.

The number of births — 1,049,553, — was the lowest since the survey began in 1968, while the number of deaths hit a record high of 1,256,125.

The proportion of the population under the age of 15 fell 0.10 percentage point to 13.25 percent.

In contrast, the proportion of the population 65 or over rose 0.57 point to 23.43 percent, reflecting the continued graying of Japan.

By prefecture, Fukushima's population fell by 44,281, or 2.17 percent, as a result of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, which caused mass evacuations.

The population of the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka rose to a record high of 64,288,100, or 50.75 percent of Japan's population.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120809a2.html