Recently, whether in movies, television or on the Internet, a new term called "cat economics" has begun to become popular in Japan. Cats can affect the Japanese economy. This is not nonsense, but a success story with real evidence.
Katsuhiro Miyamoto, an honorary professor at Kansai University in Japan, estimates that Japan’s “cat economy” in 2015, including cat breeding fees, peripheral products, and cat-themed travel expenses, was as high as approximately 2.3 trillion yen.
Miyamoto said in an interview with Japan's NHK TV station that the economic benefits brought by various phenomena have been calculated so far, but examples of exceeding 2 trillion yen are quite rare, which shows that the cat craze has a huge impact on the Japanese economy.
In fact, the sluggish publishing industry is also trying to turn the tide with this lucky cat. According to statistics from the Japan Publication Science Institute, a total of 86 pet photo albums were published in Japan in 2014, twice as many as in 2013, of which 45 were cats and only 19 were dogs. Because cat books are guaranteed to be best-sellers, some publishing houses even stipulate how many cat books editors must publish each year.
The "Jimbocho Cat Hall" located in Jimbocho, Tokyo, is a bookstore that specializes in cat-related books. It was originally a little-known ordinary bookstore that had been in business for a long time, but it collapsed under the impact of the Internet age.
Now, because it has firmly grasped the cat's tail, it has successfully achieved transformation and reform. It has not only turned losses into profits, but has also gained a lot of fame. A Japanese publishing house has also published a series of books such as "Top 100 Carefully Selected Cat Books" to introduce "cat culture" to the public.
"Jimbocho Cat Hall" not only has a wide range of books about cats, but also specially invites cute cats from nearby pet shops to serve as the cat store managers on the store's Facebook page. From the business content to the store atmosphere to the cultural atmosphere, everything is "full of cat flavor". The bookstore owner said excitedly: "Cats are my savior."
Taking advantage of the good situation of the "cat economy", many bookstores in Japan seized the opportunity to launch the "cat book series" for readers specifically for long night reading. "Cat culture" gave birth to the "cat economy", and the "cat economy" in turn promoted "cat culture."
In Japan, the “cat economy” is a classic case of the interaction between culture and economy, resulting in a virtuous cycle.
Japan’s “cat economy” tells people that if you want to do a good job in the cultural industry, you must calm down and find people’s real emotional needs and find the entry point, so that you can get twice the result with half the effort.
Compared with other pets, Japanese people have a special liking for cats. Loneliness and busyness are the main reasons. Most Japanese office workers leave early and come back late. Compared with dogs that need to be taken care of and walked every day, independent cats have naturally become the first choice for pets for office workers. Especially Japanese women most hope to be like cats, symbolizing independence and elegance.
Statistics from the Japan Pet Food Association show that in 2011, there were 2.33 million more dogs than cats, but by 2015, the number of cats had increased significantly, with only 40,000 fewer than dogs. Miyamoto said that although it seems that dogs have great economic benefits now, cats may have the highest economic benefits among pets in the future.
Japanese media also predict that as the population ages and the number of single people increases, the number of cats raised is expected to be higher than that of dogs, and the economic benefits of cats will gradually expand.