Development of a tax-free shopping environment in Japan: An analysis of its representations in a financial newspaper

A research article co-authored by CTR researchers, Mr. Daijiro Yamagishi (CTR Visiting Junior Fellow) and Dr. Hayato Nagai, has been published in Tourism Planning & Development.

 

 

 

 

Title

Development of a tax-free shopping environment in Japan: An analysis of its representations in a financial newspaper

 

Authors

Daijiro Yamagishi, Graduate School of Tourism, Wakayama University

Hayato Nagai, Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University

 

Source

Tourism Planning & Development

July 2021

DOI: 10.1080/21568316.2021.1953122

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21568316.2021.1953122

* Indexed in Scopus

Journal details:　https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/19900191973

 

Abstract

Tax-free shopping is recognised as an important component of international travel experience, but the investigation of this topic remains limited. This study aims to extend the understanding of the tax-free shopping phenomenon, especially its historical development in Japan through investigating how the topic of tax-free shopping has been viewed and discussed in Japan. To achieve this aims, 549 newspaper articles containing the term menzei (Japanese for “tax exemption”) from a major financial newspaper were collected and analysed. The results revealed that the term menzei was differently represented in a financial newspaper before and after the national government introduced major inbound tourism development strategies in the early 2000s, indicating that the public interest in the tax-free shopping phenomenon increased as inbound tourism developed. The findings of this study are expected to serve as important foundational knowledge and to encourage future research on this topic.

 

Keywords

Japan; Newspaper articles; Tax-free shopping; Text mining