Catnomics – Billion USD ‘cat economy’ in Japan

In the old town of Yanaka Ginza in northeast Tokyo, images of cats appear everywhere. Dubbed the “cat town” in the heart of the capital, this place attracts tourists from North America, Australia and Europe flocking to visit and shop.

They can enjoy cat-shaped candy or order personalized cat-themed stamps. Ms. Yumiko Yamashita, owner of Neco Action store, said that Yanaka has long had a lot of cats because it has many Buddhist temples.

“In the past, they went everywhere, even into people’s houses, but now they are less common. It’s hot so they like to stay indoors,” she said.

Although hot weather makes the “four-legged residents” less visible, souvenir shops are still crowded with customers buying refrigerator magnets, postcards, chopsticks, ceramics decorated with cats and Maneki-Neko (waving cat) statues, also known as “talented cats”.

In Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, ceramic maker Chugai Toen attracted attention last year thanks to its innovative new cat figurines. Founded in 1952, the brand was hit hard during the pandemic.

But its business has recently recovered, with annual sales of about 1 billion yen ($6.9 million), contributed significantly by the “Maneki-Neko” product line. In 2023, they opened Studio894 near their headquarters, combining sales, displays, a cafe and the experience of hand-painting ceramic cat statues for a fee of 1,500 yen.

Chugai Toen President Yasuhiro Suzuki said Studio894 has become “one of Seto City’s important tourist attractions.” The company aims to increase annual revenue to 1.5 billion yen in the next five years.

Not only do they attract tourists, cats also bring many other consumer-stimulating benefits, creating a concept called “Catnomics” or “Cat Economy” by Professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto at Kansai University. In the latest “Catnomics” report, he estimated that cats will contribute nearly 3,000 billion yen (18.8 billion USD) to the Japanese economy this year.

The domestic pet care industry involving cats is a major contributor. Over the past decade, cats have surpassed dogs as Japan’s most popular pets. According to the Japan Pet Food Association, households will keep about 8.8 million cats by 2025, compared with 6.8 million dogs. Each cat-owning household spends an average of about 1.8 million yen ($11,300) over the animal’s lifetime.

Businesses began to pay attention to the business potential when the number of pet cats surpassed dogs for the first time in 2014. This development is attributed to demographic changes. An aging population and increasing influx of people to urban centers means less time and space to keep dogs.

Combining estimates of the ecosystem size of cat food production, spending at cat cafes and cat picture books, Professor Miyamoto suggested that the economic impact of cats is roughly equivalent to that of the 2025 Osaka World Expo, “demonstrating their significant contribution to the Japanese economy”.

Cats are said to have appeared in Japan since the Nara period (710-794), when Japanese envoys brought them back from diplomatic trips to the Tang Dynasty in China. Many are adopted by temples to protect scriptures from rats.

This role gives them a special status, even a mysterious color. The Japanese also consider cats to be natural creatures that carry the spirit of Zen, easily achieving a state of calm and detachment, something that takes people a lifetime to pursue but is still difficult to achieve.

According to author Stephen Mansfield residing in Japan, cats live in “mindfulness”, that is, in the very present moment. “Without worrying about the past or the future, their minds are probably a lot less chaotic than ours,” he described.

Today, famous cat lovers in Japan include the Emperor, Empress and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The high level of attachment has turned cats into big business, from the pet industry and tourism to marketing and publishing. This country also has “Cat Day” on February 22.

Theo Bloomberg“Cat Day” has exploded in recent years, as companies capture the vibrant cat-related market. Convenience store chains often compete to sell these themed desserts and merchandise. On February 22, they launched a pudding shaped like a cat’s paw.

In the literature and publishing industry, cats are also “marketing machines”. Last century, writer Natsume Sōseki wrote “I Am a Cat”, a global classic, telling the story from the perspective of a cat.

To this day, cats still appear frequently in literature, including Haruki Murakami’s surreal novels, as well as many works such as The Traveling Cat Chronicles or The Guest Cat. Cats are so attractive that many publishers even use cat images on the covers of books that have almost nothing to do with them.

Up to now, cats have a great cultural and economic position in Japan. However, The Guardian pointed out that the Aoshima “cat island” farm is gradually decreasing in number of individuals, because there are few people left to feed and care for them.

In the context of an almost irreversible long-term population decline and aging trend, the number of cats kept as pets in Japan is forecast to shrink. Professor Miyamoto’s research notes that 2025 is the first year to see a significant decrease in the number of cats kept as pets.

“This could mark the beginning of a period of stagnation or decline after the cat breeding boom,” he warned.