Japanese love leisure more than ever but turn thrifty
In a survey, those who answered they attached importance to leisure rather than to work, including study, last year accounted for 67.8% of the total respondents, the highest reading since comparable data became available in 2009, the Japan Productivity Center said in its 2025 Leisure White Paper, released last week.
Among respondents who took part in at least one spare-time activity in 2024, "domestic pleasure trip" enjoyed the highest participation rate of 48.3%, proving to be the most popular way of having fun for three years in a row.
However, the figure is lower than 48.7% in the previous survey and far short of the 2019 prepandemic level of 54.3%.
"Recent price spikes are believed to have made many people cautious about spending on travel," a JPC official said.
"Video viewing" emerged as the second most popular leisure activity with the participation rate of 38.1%, up 1.1 percentage points year on year, while "eating out" descended from second to third with the rate dropping 3.6 points to 35.6%.
Those results as well suggest that elevated inflation has been keeping Japanese people from splurging on leisure activities.
The nationwide survey was conducted online in February, and 3,467 people gave valid responses.
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Japan Times
24 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Japan and EU launch trade ‘alliance' amid concerns over U.S. and China
Jolted by the threat of sweeping U.S. tariffs and 'unfair' Chinese trade practices, the European Union and Japan on Wednesday launched a 'competitiveness alliance' to expand bilateral trade ties, promote business cooperation and explore ways to diversify critical mineral supply chains. The move comes as both sides have faced increased economic pressure from Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Washington had reached a new trade deal with Tokyo that leaves in place some tariffs, but the EU still faces a 30% levy with an Aug. 1 deadline. The alliance, which will also include an expanded economic dialogue in a format similar to what are known as two-plus-two talks involving senior officials, was among a series of agreements reached by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during an EU-Japan summit in Tokyo. The alliance framework envisages greater collaboration and policy coordination on a host of issues ranging from boosting industrial competitiveness and supply-chain resilience to reducing strategic dependency. It also calls on the two sides to step up coordination and jointly lead international discussions, for instance, by steering trade-related talks at the World Trade Organization and the Group of Seven meetings. "On geoeconomics, we are witnessing growing trade tensions and uncertainty, even among long-standing partners," von der Leyen said in a written interview Wednesday with the Nikkei daily. "For strategic partners like Europe and Japan, this means bringing our relationship even closer to meet the realities of our time and shape the future." Through the expanded high-level economic dialogue, which will now include Stephane Sejourne, the European Commission's executive vice president for prosperity and industrial strategy, the two sides will aim to identify strategic goods and sectors, while addressing economic coercion and nonmarket policies and practices, including any resulting overcapacity. One key topic discussed was strengthening 'reliable' supply chains, with an initial focus on critical raw materials such as rare earths and batteries — a type of collaboration that Brussels said 'could extend to other sectors in the future.' Last month, Sejourne announced the selection of 13 strategic projects focused on the supply of critical raw materials in countries outside the EU. These include projects for graphite supply in Ukraine, Norway, Greenland, Madagascar and Kazakhstan, with nickel and cobalt production being addressed in Canada, Brazil and Zambia. Von der Leyen told the Nikkei that the EU will explore investment opportunities with Japan throughout Europe, saying for the first time that there are "strong prospects" for collaborating on mining. This comes after China imposed export restrictions in April on seven rare earth elements and magnets used in the defense, energy and automotive sectors in response to increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese products. While Chinese exports have largely resumed under certain conditions, the restrictions have impacted both EU and Japanese industries, with the two sides now considering public-private partnerships to explore new supply chains and reduce their overreliance on Beijing, which currently dominates global rare earth production. Under their new alliance, Tokyo and Brussels also plan to simplify and streamline rules to reduce administrative burdens for Japanese and European businesses and citizens, all while deepening industrial policy cooperation and facilitating investment and business collaborations. Other objectives of the new framework include promoting and protecting critical and emerging technologies, enhancing research security as well as the physical and cybersecurity of critical infrastructure. The ambitious alliance framework also includes steps to work closer together in the areas of energy, decarbonization, the bioeconomy, space, digital, the defense industry as well as research and innovation. Jose Parejo, head of the JP & Associates intelligence consultancy, said that four critical factors had converged to drive the two sides to seek alternative economic partnerships, with the first two being Trump's tariff threats and Beijing's weaponization of critical materials, both of which exposed dangerous vulnerabilities. The third factor, Parejo said, has been the WTO's institutional paralysis. 'Its dysfunctional appellate body has pushed like-minded partners toward plurilateral arrangements that can establish high standards and effective dispute resolution,' he said. Finally, the EU's new Competitiveness Compass positioned innovation, decarbonization, and dependency reduction as growth pillars where Japan emerges as the bloc's 'natural technological and values-based partner,' he added. The European Union and Japan on Wednesday launched a 'competitiveness alliance' to expand bilateral trade ties, promote business cooperation and explore ways to diversify critical mineral supply chains. | REUTERS EU-Japan relations are based on a strategic partnership agreement and a free-trade deal that has been in force since 2019. EU firms already export nearly €70 billion ($81.8 billion) in goods and €28 billion ($32.7 billion) in services to Japan every year. Together, the partners account for almost a quarter of the world's gross domestic product and 20% of global trade in goods and services counted together. Still, the new alliance could take ties even further in a number of areas, experts said. In critical minerals, for instance, Europe could benefit from Japan's world-leading rare-earth refining expertise while Japan could potentially access European Investment Bank financing and joint procurement platforms that reduce costs and enhance negotiating power against Chinese dominance. Green technology coordination, meanwhile, would create the scale necessary to compete with Chinese manufacturers, while digital sovereignty benefits could include joint 6G, AI and semiconductor laboratories that close the innovation gap with the U.S. and China. Market access is equally significant as Japanese companies look to gain preferential single market entry to 450 million consumers, while European firms benefit from Japan as a gateway to the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that bridges European and Asian economic spheres. That said, the alliance's strategic objectives go beyond bilateral cooperation, as it rebalances dependencies away from China and the U.S. 'This isn't anti-American or anti-Chinese positioning, but sophisticated maintenance of European agency in a multipolar world,' Parejo said. 'The alliance represents cornerstone 'selective multilateralism' where rule-making democracies coordinate resilient, sustainable markets while reducing systemic vulnerabilities.' The EU-Japan summit comes after von der Leyen proposed to EU leaders last month the launch of a Europe-led initiative to establish a more structured trade cooperation with Asian countries, potentially laying the groundwork for an alternative to the gridlocked WTO. "I said that we can think about this as the beginning of redesigning the WTO," she said, while referring to the CPTPP as 'a project we should truly engage in.' Whether Brussels is truly aiming to join the free-trade pact is unclear. Some observers say that the European Commission president could be posturing as a way to gain leverage over the Trump administration. EU envoys will reportedly meet as early as this week to formulate a plan to respond to a possible no-deal scenario on tariffs. A growing number of EU member states reportedly wants the bloc to activate its most powerful trade tool, what is called the anti-coercion instrument (ACI), against the U.S. should the two sides fail to reach an acceptable agreement and Trump follows through on his tariff threats. The ACI would give officials broad powers to take retaliatory action. Those measures could include new taxes on U.S. tech giants or targeted curbs on U.S. investments in the EU.
Japan Times
24 minutes ago
- Japan Times
China singled out at EU-Japan summit
As European and Japanese leaders announced a raft of agreements to deepen trade and defense ties at a summit Wednesday in Tokyo, they also drew a bead on China — just a day before the visiting European Union delegation heads to Beijing. China, a top trading partner of both Japan and the EU, came under fire during a summit between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. In a joint statement released following the EU-Japan summit, the two sides reiterated their opposition to 'any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion' in the East and South China seas –– a nod to Beijing's growing assertiveness in contested waters –– and called for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law. They also underscored 'the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,' calling for the 'peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues,' which they said remains 'indispensable to security and prosperity in the international community.' China's military moves in the Indo-Pacific, especially its designs on democratic Taiwan, have unnerved both Tokyo and Brussels. Beijing refers to Taiwan as its 'core of core issues' and claims the island as a renegade province that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. The Chinese military has been testing Tokyo's response and the Self-Defense Forces' capabilities by conducting a series of military exercises that Japanese defense officials have said are practice for the possibility of conflict over Taiwan. The moves have prompted multiple close encounters between the Chinese military and the SDF in recent weeks. 'Given the current international situation ... close cooperation and coordination with the EU — which shares our values and principles — is becoming more important than ever,' Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference Tuesday, ahead of the EU-Japan meeting. Japan, meanwhile, was referred to by EU officials as the bloc's "closest strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific region,' with the two sides launching a new trade 'alliance' and pushing for deeper defense industrial ties. The tangible results of the EU-Japan summit are expected to contrast sharply with the limited hopes for any deliverables in the bloc's meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday in Beijing, where even a joint statement is not expected, media reports quoting European officials said. Ties between the EU and China have deteriorated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with European complaints focused on Beijing's 'unfair' trade practices and its support for Moscow. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a key driver of animosity between the two sides. For Brussels, cooperation between Chinese and Russian firms that supports Moscow's military industrial complex — despite onerous European sanctions — has been a particular bone of contention. On Friday, the EU said that it had for the first time sanctioned two Chinese banks and five China-based companies as part of its latest measures against Moscow over the Ukraine war. In their joint statement, the EU and Japan delivered thinly veiled criticism of the Chinese government's implicit support for the Russian war effort, backing that has provided Moscow with a critical lifeline for its ongoing war in Ukraine. The two sides condemned 'third parties and actors' enabling Russia to sustain its 'war of aggression' against Ukraine, and urged all parties to 'immediately cease any such direct or indirect assistance to Russia,' including efforts to circumvent sanctions and supply dual-use materials to Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking in an interview Wednesday, ahead of the EU-Japan summit, called China 'the key enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine.' Kallas said that while Beijing had said it hopes to improve ties with Brussels, this cooperation must be addressed. 'If our biggest threat is coming from Russia, then why do you (China) support them?' she asked rhetorically. 'Because they are hurting us. If you want good relations with us, you can't have it both ways.' Kallas' remarks come after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the top EU diplomat earlier this month that Beijing did not want to see a Russian loss in Ukraine because it feared the United States would then shift its whole focus to Beijing. The EU and Japan also had strong words for Moscow's security cooperation with Pyongyang, which sent an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region in a successful effort to dislodge Ukrainian forces that had taken over the Russian territory. 'We share the concern that any support from Russia to North Korea may exacerbate the already tense environment on the Korean Peninsula,' the joint statement said. 'We urge Russia and North Korea to immediately cease all such activities and abide by the U.N. Charter and all relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.'
Japan Times
24 minutes ago
- Japan Times
EU and Japan aim for deeper defense cooperation in high-tech arena
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that she sees "a lot of room for cooperation" between the European and Japanese defense and security industries, particularly in technology-driven areas like cyber and dual-use systems such as drones. With the two seeking to diversify partners, they aim to launch a Japan-EU Defense Industry Dialogue early next year that will bring together government officials and business representatives from both sides, Kallas told The Japan Times, as European Union leaders met with their Japanese counterparts for a summit in Tokyo. The dialogue, which is expected to serve as a platform to promote bilateral collaboration, could eventually also present opportunities for Japanese companies to take part in EU defense projects and vice versa. 'When we develop this dialogue further, then I think it will go both ways,' Kallas, who also serves as European Commission vice president, said in an exclusive interview. The former Estonian prime minister explained that the European defense industry is currently facing a number of challenges ranging from long procurement times to high equipment costs and Chinese export controls on rare earths. This is why Europe is following two parallel tracks, particularly amid the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. Brussels is providing more financial possibilities for EU member states to bolster their own industries while they are also buying more military equipment from outside the bloc, particularly from the United States. Kallas hopes that cooperation with Japan will help at least partially overcome some of the current challenges. EU nations in NATO, which face similar production challenges with their domestic defense industries, have agreed to drastically boost defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. Japan, which is aiming to reach 2% of GDP spending by 2027, has come under growing pressure from Washington to follow suit. 'In recent years, Tokyo has sought to encourage Japan's defense industry to play a more prominent international role,' said Sebastian Maslow, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo who specializes in international relations. 'Establishing a foothold in Europe could be a significant step in that direction particularly as both sides are increasing defense spending but lack the production capacity to match it,' he added. Both Japan and the EU have said that strengthening their defense-industrial bases is a 'common priority' amid shared concerns over a deteriorating but increasingly interconnected international security environment. 'We see North Korean soldiers being deployed in Russia's war in Ukraine. We see Russia helping North Korea with the military equipment. We see China being the key enabler of Russia's war in Ukraine,' Kallas said. 'So these things are very much interlinked.' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU and Japan are aiming to launch a new Defense Industry Dialogue early next year that will bring together government officials and business representatives from both sides. | CECIL FUNG Amid these and other ongoing geopolitical shifts, such as the U.S. threat of sweeping tariffs, the top EU diplomat says it is only natural for the bloc to diversify its trade portfolio and global security partners. 'I think like-minded partners really should stick together, also those countries that believe in free trade, a level playing field and international law, " she said, adding that 'Japan and the European Union definitely are believers in that.' But Kallas also said that Brussels' push is not limited to Japan. 'When we go around Asia, we see a lot of interest in deepening relations with the European Union. ... From our side, it is definitely also about diversifying the portfolios and not putting all our eggs in one basket,' she said. The EU has also established a defense partnership with South Korea, and last month, Kallas was in Manila to set up a defense dialogue with the Philippines. At the EU-Japan summit, the two sides also formally launched negotiations on a classified information-sharing agreement. The deal will regulate how sensitive information will be shared, handled, stored and disposed of by the two sides. While the pact does not itself authorize information exchanges or specify what data will be exchanged, it is seen as a stepping stone toward greater levels of military and defense-industrial cooperation, including technology transfers. 'Our closer cooperation has become all the more important against the backdrop of an evolving and complex global geopolitical setting, notably Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the serious challenges to a free and open Indo-Pacific, as well as other regional and international issues,' the two sides said in a joint statement. The two sides' agreements also extended to space, with the partners vowing to accelerate the development of satellite constellations and working with the private sector to promote activities such as space debris mitigation and remediation. They also want to jointly promote norms, rules and principles of responsible behavior in outer space. The latest development follows last November's launch of a security and defense partnership between Brussels and Tokyo that lays the groundwork for closer cooperation in critical areas. These include naval cooperation such as joint training and capacity-building of other Indo-Pacific countries and exploring potential avenues for joint initiatives in the defense industry.
