Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

A crash in tourism leaves Japanese deer ravenous for treats

A crash in tourism leaves Japanese deer ravenous for treats

The sacred deer of Nara miss their old diet of rice crackers
THE MORE than 13m tourists who visit Nara, an ancient capital of Japan, each year tend to follow a well-worn path. On their way into a park at the edge of the city they pass the towering wooden pagoda of Kofuku-ji, a temple complex founded in 710.

They continue to nearby Todai-ji, gazing in awe at Japan’s largest Buddha, a bronze behemoth weighing 400 tons and standing 15 metres tall. And finally they feed shika senbei, a special kind of rice cracker, to the sacred deer, some 1,300 of which live in the park.

The deer, though wild, have come to love the crackers. With tourism reduced to a trickle because of the pandemic, they are hungry. Many have begun wandering far from home in search of food.

A recent study by the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation and Tatsuzawa Shirow of Hokkaido University shows that 20% fewer are spending their days in the park; incidents of damage caused by deer in town have shot up. The less enterprising ones, apparently accustomed to eating only crackers, have become emaciated.

The deer are not the only ones going hungry. So are businesses in places like Nara, which have come to rely ever more heavily on tourism in recent years. Fewer than 7m foreign tourists visited Japan in 2009; last year some 32m did.

Revenue from tourism hit a record 4.8trn yen ($46bn). With the Olympics scheduled for this past summer, Japan had hoped to welcome 40m foreigners this year. Instead, after a near-total closure of its borders because of the pandemic, arrivals have dropped by 99.4%.

The government has tried to cushion the blow by encouraging its own citizens to get out more. The Diet earmarked ¥1.35trn ($12.9bn) for “Go To Travel” subsidies, which provide discounts of up to 35% at domestic hotels and inns; a concurrent programme called “Go To Eat” applies to restaurants. The ministry of tourism says nearly 40m nights have been booked under the programme since it was launched in July.

That is a pyrrhic victory: the campaign is thought to have contributed to a recent uptick in covid-19. Daily cases reached a record of 2,680 on November 28th. Suga Yoshihide, Japan’s prime minister, recently announced that the subsidies would be suspended in areas with high caseloads. In addition, older Japanese have been asked not to make use of them.

Japan is loth to give up on tourism, or to let the infrastructure that supports it wither. (Mr Suga himself championed tourism as chief cabinet secretary to his predecessor, Abe Shinzo.)

Officials see spending by foreign visitors as a means to compensate for Japan’s own shrinking population. Tourism may also help make Japan more open to foreign migrants in the future, says Saito Jun of the Japan Centre for Economic Research, a think-tank in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the more resourceful deer in Nara have reverted to a healthier diet of plants and nuts, which has been good for their insides. Their droppings, made pale and runny by the crackers, have become firmer and darker again. If only belt-tightening were as good for the economy.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×