Ten days of holidays are on the horizon in Japan for the Emperor's abdication on April 30. (AFP) For the Emperor's abdication on April 30, Japanese workers will enjoy an unprecedented 10-day holiday as a rash of special days off combine with the traditional "Golden Week" in May. But not everyone is popping the champagne corks in famously workaholic Japan. "To be honest, I don't know how to spend the time when we are suddenly given 10 days of holidays," said 31-year-old finance worker Seishu Sato. "If you want to go travelling, it's going to be crowded everywhere and tour costs have surged... I might end up staying at my parents' place," he said. A survey by the Asahi Shimbun daily showed 45 percent of Japanese "felt unhappy" about the long vacation, with only 35 percent saying they "felt happy". "I won't be able to take days off. On the contrary, we'll be super-busy," said Takeru Jo, a 46-year-old pizzeria worker. Others who have to work over the period complain about childcare. "For parents in the service sector, the 10 days of holiday is a headache. After-school care, nurseries -- everything is closed," tweeted one disgruntled parent. Many expect Tokyo and other large cities to empty as Japanese seize the rare opportunity for an overseas trip. "Most of our tours for the holiday period were sold out last year," said Hideki Wakamatsu, a spokesman for Nippon Travel Agency, adding that many others were on the waiting list. "Love marriage" Still, if people are curiously indifferent to the idea of extra holidays as a result of the emperor, the imperial family remains as popular as ever. A poll by public broadcaster NHK found almost no one would admit to a "feeling of antipathy" towards the emperor with the vast majority saying they had a "positive feeling" or "respect." Only 22 percent voiced indifference. This positive sentiment has risen every year since 2003, according to the NHK poll. Takeshi Hara, politics professor at the Open University of Japan, said much of this stemmed from the imperial couple's "welfare-related activities". "Their attention to the elderly, the disabled and the victims of natural disasters -- those ignored by politicians in the past three decades -- has earned public support," Hara told AFP. The fact that Emperor Akihito married his sweetheart Michiko "for love" -- the first love marriage in imperial history -- has also boosted his standing, said Hara. Japan's Emperor Akihito (L) and Empress Michiko. (AFP) But Hideto Tsuboi, from the Kyoto-based International Research Center for Japanese Studies, said one of the main reasons for Akihito's popularity lay in the fact that he was "conscious of the responsibility of the post-war generation" to reflect on Japan's wartime atrocities. On the 73rd anniversary of the end of World War II last year, Akihito reiterated "deep remorse" over the war and his continued wishes for peace. Unlike in many constitutional monarchies, there is almost no republican movement to speak of and criticism of the emperor is anathema -- a phenomenon known as the Chrysanthemum taboo, after the throne. Hara said that while tabloids are beginning to dig deeper into the royals' private lives, memories of right-wing atrocities against imperial opponents "means there is pressure not to criticise the emperor in public". In 1961, a right-winger invaded the house of a publishing company's president and stabbed his housekeeper to death over a novel perceived to be critical of the imperial family. More recently, in 1990, the then-mayor of Nagasaki was shot and injured after he remarked that Akihito's father Hirohito was partially responsible for World War II. "Highly religious nature" While criticism of the emperor is virtually non-existent, there has been some opposition to the financing of some of the ceremonies surrounding the abdication and enthronement. More than 200 Japanese citizens have filed a lawsuit against the government for planning to use taxpayer money to fund the ceremonies. They say the ceremonies are religious in nature and funding them from the public purse breaks the constitutional principle separating religion and state. They received unexpected backing from a member of the imperial household, Prince Akishino, the emperor's youngest son, who will become Crown Prince when his brother Naruhito ascends the throne. Noting that one of the rituals "has a highly religious nature", Akishino mused: "I wonder if it is appropriate to finance this highly religious thing with state funds."<doc-sep>TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s unprecedented 10-day holiday to celebrate Crown Prince Naruhito’s enthronement is expected to give the sluggish economy at least a short-term boost. FILE PHOTO : Holidaymakers view thousands of carp streamers hanging on the bank of the Sagami river in Sagamihara, southwest of Tokyo May 3, 2005. REUTERS/Issei Kato Breweries, hotels, retailers, restaurants and train operators are all expected to benefit from the holiday, which runs from April 27 to May 6. Banks, schools, government offices and many businesses will be closed. A record 24.7 million people - about one-fifth the country’s population - are expected to travel, according to travel agency JTB Corp., mostly within the country. “Japanese are in a festive mood, with the new imperial era beginning and the 10-day break,” said Yoshiie Horii, a spokesman for brewer Asahi Group, which is increasing production of several brands by 5-10 percent ahead of the break. “We think this holiday will spur consumer spending.” Japan has a cluster of national holidays every year around this time dubbed “Golden Week.” But this year, authorities gave the nation an extended vacation to fete the imperial succession. After a 31-year reign, Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30 and be replaced by his son Naruhito the next day. Japanese have made travel plans months ahead of time, creating intense competition for popular destinations such as Hawaii and Europe. Akiko Nishikata’s family tried in November to reserve a package tour to Hawaii for Golden Week but were told they were sold out. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go on a long trip, so we’re disappointed,” Nishikata said. Instead, they’ll travel to either Hokkaido in the north or Kyushu in the south. Also, because the imperial transition is triggered by Akihito’s abdication, not his death, consumers don’t feel a need to hold back due to mourning. To mark the new era, department stores in Tokyo plan to offer limited quantities of commemorative items on May 1, including traditional sweets with “Hello, Reiwa” on them and confections sprinkled with powdered gold. TAX HIKE The expected economic bump from the long holiday will boost second-quarter GDP growth and give Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government another reason to proceed with a planned sales tax increase in October, said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. Kumano estimates that domestic travel spending will jump nearly 30 percent from a year ago to 1.48 trillion yen ($13.3 billion). “In March, there was a lot of talk about a recession, but that’s completely disappeared with buzz from the announcement of Reiwa on April 1,” he said. “May 1 will be even bigger.” Overall consumer spending during the 10 days is forecast to rise 7.6 percent compared with a year ago and contribute a quarter percentage point to GDP, said Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities. But other analysts cautioned that an increase would probably be followed by a drop in consumption, making the long-term impact negligible. “A spending boost, if any, will be short-lived,” said Masaki Kuwahara, senior economist at Nomura Securities. Manufacturers generally don’t expect the longer holiday to have a big impact. Toyota, for example, says its plants are usually closed for nine days during Golden Week, and it is doing the same this year. Computer systems companies and other businesses may see a dip in sales because of lost workdays, but a Reuters survey of about 220 companies showed that nearly half didn’t expect the long break to affect their business. About 28 percent predicted a decline in output or sales while a quarter projected a rise. JITTERY TRADERS Hospitals will alternate operating hours during the break, as is typical during holidays. Tokyo residents can visit a website to see which hospitals are taking patients, and find more detailed information. Financial market traders, meanwhile, are worried that the 10-day shutdown could cause disruptions and unsettle the yen. The U.S. jobs report and several other key events will happen while the market is closed, said Shogo Maekawa, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “It’s a risk that we can’t trade for 10 days even if something volatile happens in overseas markets,” he said. ($1 = 111.6900 yen)<doc-sep>In a post by the Career Connection media outlet, a woman in her 30s complained that she couldn’t take any time off because the hotel where she works is fully booked. “If it was the government who decided on a 10-day holiday, they should think about people in the service sector who can’t take leave,” she wrote. “I wish they would at least raise wages during the holidays.”<doc-sep>
The Japanese government is giving the country an extra-long holiday to commemorate the coronation of the country’s new emperor, but the move has drawn mixed reactions with the country’s famously hardworking citizens fretting over everything from the potentially negative effects on business to a lack of activities with which to occupy their out-of-school children. A poll in the Asahi newspaper, cited by the Guardian, found that 45% of respondents “felt unhappy” about the long vacation, compared to 35% who said they “felt happy.” Last year, Japanese lawmakers approved a bill to designate April 30, May 1 and May 2 as national holidays to mark the accession of Crown Prince Naruhito. Since April 29, Showa Day, is already a public holiday, and May 3 to 6 is the country’s traditional “Golden Week” holiday period—spanning Constitution memorial Day, the so-called Citizen’s Holiday and Children’s Day—the new holidays mean that Japan’s workers are in for a 10-day break, inclusive of a weekend. But the extended vacation time has many in the financial sector worried about possible market disruption and the increased volatility of stocks and currency that may result. One trader told Reuters that it was “horrifying” that companies will not be able to trade for six business days. Meanwhile, contract workers, who are paid by the hour or day, say they fear the resultant loss in income. Parents are also anxious that they won’t be able to keep their children occupied, with day-care centers and nurseries shut during the break. It isn’t all doom and gloom, however. The Guardian reports that amid these concerns, the travel industry is seeing a significant increase in bookings for overseas trips, signaling that some Japanese, at least, are keen to take advantage of the holiday. Crown Prince Naruhito will take the throne on May 1, succeeding Emperor Akihito and ushering in a new imperial era known as the Reiwa era. Write to Hillary Leung at hillary.leung@time.com.