Japan keeps tourism freeze despite plunge in virus cases

By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Filled with pink and fuzzy things and cuddly bears, 6%DOKIDOKI, a tiny store in the heart of Tokyo’s Harajuku district, is bursting with “kawaii,” the Japanese for “cuteness.” What it doesn’t have enough of, as in zero, are foreign tourists. And it could sure use some. Like much of Asia, including Taiwan, Vietnam and Australia, Japan’s borders remain closed to tourists from abroad. But while other Asian countries inch toward reopening, Japan looks likely to keep its borders shut for some time to come. That’s a hardship for the many businesses that had come to rely on foreign tourists, who numbered 32 million in 2019, before the pandemic.