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LettersWhy Japan has come round to welcoming Hongkongers vaccinated with Sinovac
- Readers discuss Hongkongers’ love for their ‘second home’, the impact of US interest rates on Hong Kong’s economy, how Mirror can go global, and the city’s power needs
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Japan’s gross domestic product shrank an annualised 1 per cent in the first quarter of this year, and the Japanese yen has been depreciating against the US dollar. The outlook for the Japanese economy is not promising.
The past two years have seen major brands hard hit. Japanese department store chains Tokyu Hands and Marui have had to close iconic stores. The World Travel & Tourism Council reported in June last year that the pandemic had wiped US$138 billion from the Japanese economy.
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It is hardly exaggerating to describe Japan as many Hongkongers’ second home. In 2019, before the pandemic hit, Hongkongers made 2.29 million visits to Japan, the fourth largest source of visitor arrivals.
Given that countries around the world are keen to attract visitors, and that the World Health Organization recognised the Sinovac vaccine early on, Japan has come round to admitting visitors who have taken the Sinovac jab.
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Many of Japan’s tourist spots used to be filled with Hongkongers wearing big smiles and carrying loads of stuff they bought. Rejecting the Sinovac vaccine would have been tantamount to rejecting a boost to the Japanese economy.
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