Although the Japan Tourism Agency predicts the number of Chinese tourists to Japan this year will increase 80 percent from last year to 1.8 million, their spending habits so far have not lifted personal consumption in Japan, which accounts for more than half of the nation's gross domestic product.
"The effects (of the Chinese tourists) are limited in increasing domestic demand," said Ryoji Maku, a senior researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc.
The institute estimates that Chinese tourists have each spent on average 130,000 yen ($1,470) during their trips in Japan.
But those tourists have been mainly rich Chinese. The eased regulations that took effect Thursday are targeted at middle-class Chinese looking to travel to Japan as individuals. They will not have as much purchasing power as their predecessors.
"Wealthy Chinese people have bought more than the Japanese when it comes to shopping. But the (middle-class) tourists who are expected to increase from now will not necessarily be the same," said an executive of a major department store.
One positive effect from the tourist numbers, according to Wang Min, professor of Japanese affairs at Hosei University, could be improved relations between the two countries and a better mutual understanding.
"If Chinese people experience Japan by themselves, the number of ways to judge Japan will increase drastically. If understandings about Japan spread (among Chinese people)," their sentiments toward Japan will improve, she said.
Animosity between Chinese and Japanese soared when Junichiro Koizumi was prime minister and repeatedly visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead and Class-A war criminals.
Although anti-Japan feelings run deep in China, even after Koizumi's reign ended in 2006, Chinese who have traveled to Japan are helping to improve the situation.
Some messages on the Internet from Chinese tourists include, "Japanese people are polite and serious" and "Japan is beautiful because it harmonizes historical heritage and modernization".
Companies in Japan's travel and retail industries are doing their best to make the Chinese feel welcome.
All Nippon Airways Co. on Thursday started a Chinese-language version of its website that allows users to buy tickets in yuan, while Prince Hotels Inc. made Chinese-language broadcasts available in all rooms of its three hotels in Tokyo.
In the city of Kyoto, the travel information center for foreigners was moved from the ninth floor of the JR Kyoto Station building to the second floor, with Chinese-speaking staff always available.
Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, in cooperation with a nearby hotel, started offering free interpreters and delivery services for Chinese shoppers on June 25.
The China Union Pay debit card popular among Chinese tourists can be used in at least 17,800 stores and facilities in Japan. Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., which is in a business tie-up with the operator of the card, said this number will increase.
But Chinese tourists do not come to Japan only to buy cosmetics, electric appliances and other brand-name goods.
"The popular spots are onsen hot springs. Tokyo Disneyland and Mount Fuji are also highly popular," said an executive of a travel agency in Shenyang in northeast China. "Many people also want to go to Hokkaido where the popular 2008 Chinese movie 'If You Are the One' was set".
A 43-year-old man in Shenyang welcomed Thursday's relaxation of the visa restrictions and suggested he might travel to Japan for a completely different reason.
"I want to go to Japan with my parents. I feel proud that China's status is being recognized by Japan," he said.
