Extreme Weather’s Taking a Toll on Japan’s Tourist Boom

Japan’s tourist boom had been one of country’s few unambiguous economic success stories of late, but a series of natural disasters over the past two months is weighing on the trend. Growth in inbound tourists showed an abrupt slowdown in July, according to latest figures, with the smallest year-on-year percentage increase since early 2013. Japan’s tourist body blamed the recent figures on a run of poor weather, including historic floods in western Japan. Making matters worse, a magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido early Thursday, following a record typhoon in Western Japan that paralyzed air travel.