Holidaymakers to boost spending as Japan growth at tipping point

Summer holidays without COVID-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 percent of 2019 levels and those for shinkansen bullet trains and other local lines are also near pre-pandemic levels.

The summer holiday season comes after Japan began treating COVID on the same level as seasonal flu in May, which one of the major air carriers says has “removed psychologica...