Summer holidays without COVID-19-related curbs, higher bonuses and a travel demand comeback appear to signal consumers are ready to ramp up spending, in a boon to the Japanese economy.
For the Bon holidays in mid-August, bookings for domestic flights offered by major Japanese airlines have returned to some 94% of 2019 levels and those for shinkansen and other local train lines are also near pre-pandemic levels.
The summer holiday season comes after Japan began treating COVID-19 on the same level as seasonal flu in May, which one of the major air carriers says has "removed psychological barriers" to travel.