A passenger jet from Japanese carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) takes off past another at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda on February 2, 2023. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP)
TOKYO: Japan’s services activity grew at a record pace in April, according to a private-sector survey, helped by a boost in consumer spending following the end of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
The final au Jibun Bank Japan Services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed to a seasonally adjusted 55.4 last month from March’s 55.0.
It was also higher than the flash reading of 54.9 and well above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction for a seventh straight month.
“Strong increases in travel, leisure and tourism spending underpinned another month of swift recovery for the Japanese economy as the impact of Covid-19 continued to fade,” said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“There were also many reports citing a boost to sales from the recovery in international tourist arrivals and subsequent improvement in new business from abroad,” he said.
Japan ended strict Covid-related border control measures that required vaccination certificates or negative tests on Saturday, in hopes of easing congestion at airports before the start of a week-long holiday.
The government also decided to reclassify Covid-19 as an infectious disease level on par with the seasonal flu.
Visitors to Japan surged to 1.82 million in March, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic.
New orders expanded at the fastest pace on record, the survey showed, citing a sharp return of spending for travel and tourism. — Reuters
