[Animals] "Nekonomics": the power of cats in the Japanese economy

[Mr.Hacker]

In addition to captivating a record number of people, cats helped heat up the Japanese economy during the covid-19 pandemic.

 

 

According to Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor emeritus at Kansai University, the phenomenon he called "nekonomics" (economic effects of cats) moved about $14.6 billion (1.9 trillion yen) in the 2021 period alone.

To arrive at this high figure, the survey took into account expenses on food, basic necessities and veterinary care, as well as projects generated by the Japanese passion for cats. Even those who do not have a pet at home often go to themed cafes and tourist spots, such as islands known for their concentration of felines, just to photograph and touch the cats.

In Japan, the onomatopoeia for meowing is "nyan nyan nyan", which sounds like "ni" (two in Japanese). Based on a play on words and at the suggestion of the pet food industry, in 1987 it was established that February 22 would be Cat Day, thus creating one more reason to increase "nekonomics".

For many Japanese, ignoring the cat's piercing gaze and purring is as difficult as resisting the myriad of cute items that the cat industry tends to fill the shelves with at this time of year.

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According to the Japan Pet Food Association, the po[CENSORED]rity of cats has been on the rise for more than two decades. The pandemic only caused this interest to rise further as people were forced to isolate at home.

The po[CENSORED]tion of these cats registered a record in 2021, adding some 489,000 more animals compared to the previous period, which brought the total number of cats in the country to about 8.94 million (compared to 7.10 million dogs ).

Yoichiro Matsushita with Kiki and Lara, the current feline members of his family.
IMAGE SOURCE, PERSONAL ARCHIVE
Caption,
Yoichiro Matsushita with Kiki and Lara, the current feline members of his family.

Professor Miyamoto multiplied this number by the average monthly expense of US$63 (about 8,460 yen) that goes into the country for feeding and basic care of each animal. The sum reaches US$ 6,758 million per year (about 911,580 million yen)

To that amount was added the domino effect of the entire chain and what was generated by feline domestic tourism: the total was about US$14.6 billion (almost 2 trillion yen).

By way of comparison, the 'nekonomics' in 2021 are slightly higher than what was spent on the organization of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (estimated at US$12.528 million or 1.69 trillion yen).

Professor Miyamoto reminds that the cost of taking care of a small cat is relatively low for a family, but for Japan it means a lot. "In other words, the accumulation of small amounts by each family contributes to the Japanese economy, it is the engine that moves the whole," he says in an interview with BBC News Brazil.