The 2006 football World Cup is bringing the Japanese economy a windfall of $4-billion in television sales, tourism and other spin-off economic activities, a survey said on Thursday.
Japan’s top advertising agency, Dentsu, said that if Japan reaches the semifinals or final the total will swell to $4,6-billion as ”the excitement induced across the entire country would further magnify the economic impact”.
Dentsu’s survey showed the World Cup is directly boosting consumer spending by ¥224-billion ($1,9-billion) in Japan, including ¥22,6-billion already spent on attending qualifying matches at home and abroad.
Of this sum, ¥93-billion will be spent on digital consumer appliances and services such as thin-screen televisions, DVD recorders, personal computers and broadcasting services.
The World Cup is generating sales of food and beverage — including deliveries of pizza and other foods — worth ¥41,4-billion, and of World Cup commemorative items and other related goods worth ¥42,7-billion, the survey said.
”Furthermore, the direct economic impact through a wide range of component and other purchases shown above are expected to trigger total-production increases of ¥475,9-billion,” it said.
Dentsu said that the 2002 World Cup finals, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, boosted domestic consumption by an estimated ¥848-billion. The total economic impact in Japan was estimated at
¥1.86-trillion in 2002. — Sapa-AFP