MUMBAI: Just how huge soccer is in Japan can be gauged from this piece of news! Dentsu president Tateo Mataki has announced the results of an independent quantitative survey conducted by its Center For Consumer Studies (CCS) regarding the impact of the 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany to be held from 9 June to - 9 July, 2006 on Japan’s domestic consumer economy.
In addition to further stimulating already buoyant sales of DVD recorders and thin-screen televisions, which are making deep inroads into the household market, the event is strongly expected to provide a broad-based economic impact in Japan across many areas of the economy including manufacture of parts and components, distribution and service industries.
According to the survey estimates, the event will directly bolster household consumer expenditures in Japan by ¥ 224.1 billion ($ 1.95 billion), including ¥ 93.1 billion spent on such digital consumer appliances and services as thin-screen televisions, DVD recorders, personal computers, and subscription-based BS/CS broadcasting services. The impact on expenditures for food and beverage is estimated at ¥ 41.4 billion, while spending on related goods is expected to increase by ¥ 42.7 billion.
If the Japanese national team were to make it through to the semi-finals or final, the excitement induced across the entire country would further magnify the economic impact. In such a case, the total economic impact would grow to ¥ 546.1 billion, or ¥ 70.2 billion more than otherwise.
Although a direct comparison with this year’s tournament and other sporting events is not possible owing to the different host countries involved and changes in calculation methodology, Dentsu and Institutes For Social Engineering jointly produced estimates of the economic impact from the 2002 Fifa World Cup which was held in Korea and Japan.
According to those estimates, domestic consumption was bolstered by ¥ 848 billion including ¥ 705 billion in household consumer expenditures. The total economic impact induced by tournament-related consumption was estimated at ¥ 1,864.0 billion in 2002.
