July duty-free sales at Japan dept. stores top pre-pandemic levels

Duty-free sales at department stores across Japan totaled 31.3 billion yen ($214 million) in July, surpassing the pre-pandemic levels of 2019 for the same month thanks to the return of individual travelers from mainland China, data by an industry body showed Friday. It marked the first time duty-free sales for a single month exceeded such levels since March 2020, when the number of foreign visitors to Japan plummeted, the Japan Department Stores Association said. The return of Chinese travelers following the easing of restrictions related to COVID-19, coupled with a weak yen, has led to strong...