Japan's Narita Airport to build third runway
TOKYO: Tokyo's Narita Airport has begun the construction of a third runway to help cope with an explosion in foreign tourist arrivals.
The project, which kicked off on Sunday (May 25), will allow Narita to accommodate 500,000 landings and takeoffs annually by 2029, compared with 300,000 currently.
Narita, located about an hour's train ride from Tokyo, serves as one of the two major international gateways to Tokyo along with Haneda Airport.
The expansion, which will also include lengthening the second runway, will almost double the size of the airport.
Airport chief executive Akihiko Tamura said the project will help boost Japan's international competitiveness.
"It is an urgent issue to further enhance the functions of the airport to strengthen the international competitiveness of Japan and the Tokyo metropolitan area, to increase the number of foreign visitors to Japan, and to promote the development of the areas surrounding the airport," he said at an opening ceremony on Sunday.
The record number of tourists descending on Japan every month are infusing energy into the nation's fragile economy while also causing congestion at popular destinations like Kyoto.
The government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourists to 60 million annually by 2030.
For the first four months of the year, Japan welcomed 14.4 million visitors, a rise of 24.5 per cent from a year ago.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Japan curry shops see record bankruptcies as rice prices soar
[TOKYO] A record number of curry shops in Japan went out of business in the past year, as purveyors of one of the country's most beloved dishes took a hit from soaring rice prices. Thirteen curry shops with more than 10 million yen (S$89,345) in debt filed for bankruptcy in the year ending in March – marking a record high for the second consecutive year, according to a report from Tokyo-based research firm Teikoku Databank. The total number of bankruptcies is likely much higher when considering smaller mom-and-pop shops, Teikoku said. Prices of mainstay ingredients in Japanese curry – such as rice, spices, meat and vegetables – have gone up due to a rice shortage, adverse weather and a weak yen, the report said. Higher energy prices have also dented the profits of shop operators. Japanese curry, a thick brown sauce containing meat and vegetables, is usually served on a bed of rice. A basic curry rice dish, a classic comfort food, now costs 365 yen – a record high, according to Teikoku. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has been scrambling to combat skyrocketing rice prices in Japan by releasing stockpiles of the staple ahead of a summer election. During the coronavirus pandemic, takeout and delivery orders had fuelled a curry boom – that has now also slowed and hurt sales for curry shops, Teikoku said. BLOOMBERG
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Moody's cuts Nissan corporate family rating to Ba2
TOKYO : Global ratings agency Moody's on Friday cut Nissan Motor Co Ltd's corporate family rating to Ba2 from Ba1, as the embattled Japanese automaker seeks to push through a turnaround. The outlook remains negative, Moody's said. "The downgrade reflects the deterioration and expectation for continuing weakness in Nissan's credit profile, most notably in its automotive free cash flow and EBIT margin," Dean Enjo, Moody's ratings vice president and senior analyst, said in a statement. Japan's third-biggest automaker last month unveiled sweeping new cost cuts, saying it would reduce its workforce by around 15 per cent and cut production plants to 10 from 17 globally, as performance in its key markets continues to come under pressure.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Stocks on guard for payrolls, Tesla tumbles as Trump-Musk bromance sours
SYDNEY :Asian shares slipped on Friday as investors hunkered down for the all-important U.S. payrolls report, while Tesla suffered huge losses on the very public feud between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. A run of soft economic data this week has markets wary of a downside surprise in the monthly payrolls print due later in the day, which would add to fears of stagflation while piling pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease policy in a hurry. Tesla shares bounced 0.8 per cent in after-hours trading after tumbling a whopping 14 per cent overnight to wipe off $150 billion in market value. That came after Trump threatened to cut off government contracts to Elon Musk's companies as the once close relationship turned into a bitter open disagreement. There were signs that tempers may be cooling a bit, with Trump telling Politico that "it's okay" when asked about the relationship and that White House aides had scheduled a call on Friday with Musk to broker a peace. Nasdaq futures rose 0.3 per cent and S&P 500 futures gained 0.4 per cent, while the losses in European stock futures narrowed, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures down just 0.1 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2 per cent on Friday away from its eight-month peak. It is still set for a weekly rise of 2.1 per cent. Chinese blue chips eased 0.2 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.5 per cent as a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping offered little clarity to ease ongoing trade tensions. "I think the fact that they are talking, the fact that there is a willingness to find a way through and the channels of communication are open is a positive," said Luke Yeaman, chief economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "But I think it's clear that there are still a lot of tensions in the relationship and that neither side wants to give too much away… There's not a lot of goodwill to work with to fundamentally improve the trade relationship." Most Asian shares are down slightly, but Japan's Nikkei is a rare bright spot in Asia, up 0.4 per cent, helping trim its weekly drop to 0.7 per cent. WAIT FOR PAYROLLS Weaker-than-expected labour market data, including a 47 per cent year-on-year jump in Challenger layoffs and a significant downside surprise in ADP's private payrolls, have dampened expectations for the payrolls report. Forecasts are centred on a rise of 130,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.2 per cent. Any unexpected weakness could bring the next U.S. rate cut forward and trigger a huge rally in Treasuries. Futures imply scant chances of a rate cut until September, which is about 93 per cent priced in, with another move likely to come in December. Yields on the benchmark ten-year Treasuries were flat at 4.3887 per cent, having risen 3 basis points overnight to bounce away from a one-month low. "We expect payrolls to lose additional momentum in May, printing a below-consensus 110,000," said analysts at TD Securities in a note to clients. "Markets have recently been singularly focused on tariffs and deficits, with macro taking a back seat in recent weeks. Our forecast may not be sufficient to catalyze this revamped focus on macro, but we expect downside surprises to generate a larger market reaction." The dollar was 0.2 per cent higher against its major peers on Friday just a touch above a six-week low as soft economic data dent the U.S. currency. The euro hit a six-week top of $1.1495 overnight after the European Central Bank cut rates but signaled that it was nearing the end of its year-long policy easing cycle. Investors have given up on a move in July, with the final move most likely to come in October or December. In commodities markets, oil prices were slightly lower but were headed for weekly gains on supply concerns. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.4 per cent to $63.12 a barrel but were up 3.8 per cent for the week. In precious metals, gold prices climbed 0.4 per cent to $3,366.78 an ounce. For the week, they are up 2.3 per cent.
