Richard Smart

Japan’s economy might be listless at the moment, but at least one sector is showing vigor: tourism. As the country prepares to host the 2020 Olympics, the number of international visitors reached just over 11 million between January and July, compared to about 7.5 million a year ago, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (link in Japanese, pdf). For the year it estimates 19 million.

After weeks of “will he or won’t he?” Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe on Friday evening (Aug. 14) delivered a speech in Tokyo, the day before the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which he, in a way, apologized for his nation’s past actions.

Ben Lecomte is going on a six-month swim from San Francisco to Tokyo, beginning in September.

Japanese summers are notoriously muggy. The 35 million people who work in Tokyo endure crippling humidity on their daily commutes to work that can top 70% coupled with high temperatures. Social media is filled with statements such as atsusugi (too hot) and asekaiteiru (I’m sweating).

TOKYO—Democratic elections are not supposed to have pre-determined outcomes, yet Japan’s Sunday election is guaranteed to keep prime minister Shinzo Abe in power. But there is more at stake than a rubber-stamp victory for the creator of Abenomics: the results will impact Japan’s political and economic climate for years to come.