Japan’s 2020 Tourist Target Could Be a Challenge for Abe

A string of natural disasters deterred visitors to Japan in the third quarter, and the decline in their spending likely dragged on economic growth in the period. While Bloomberg Economics expects tourist arrivals to pick up marginally in the current quarter thanks to a weaker yen, it may be tricky for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reach his target of 40 million arrivals a year, which he hopes will help drive GDP to 600 trillion yen ($5.3 trillion) by 2020. An increase in tensions from the U.S.-China trade war or an unexpected risk-off event that drives up the yen would add to the challenges.