Cat images appear on countless book covers, an official day celebrates their appeal, and they have outnumbered dogs as pets for ten years. Cats influence many parts of Japanese life. A recent study estimates they will contribute ¥3tn ($18.8bn) to the economy this year, a trend called catnomics. The effect shows clearly in a historic Tokyo district. On a recent afternoon, visitors from North America, Australia and Europe gathered in the area known as cat town. They came to Yanaka Ginza in the northeast for its long links to cats. Cat pictures decorate shops and signs. People can buy cat-shaped sweets or create custom seals with cat designs. Warm weather and crowds kept the local cats hidden. Visitors instead bought lucky black cat magnets, postcards, chopsticks and dishes. Local shop owner Yumiko Yamashita said cats have long lived in Yanaka due to many Buddhist temples. They once roamed freely but now stay indoors more, especially on hot days. A rise in Japanese literature has boosted cat marketing. This follows Natsume Sōseki’s classic novel I Am a Cat more than a century ago. Cats also appear in works by Haruki Murakami and others. Some publishers use cat images on unrelated books. In a country where pets outnumber children under 15, households owned 8.8 million cats and 6.8 million dogs in 2025. Cat owners spend nearly ¥1.8m ($11,300) per cat over its lifetime. Economist Katsuhiro Miyamoto estimates cats will add nearly ¥3tn to the economy in 2026 through cafes, books, food and related jobs. This nearly matches the impact of the 2025 Osaka Expo. The emperor and empress own cats, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prefers them to dogs. Cats arrived in Japan during the Nara period from China and were kept in temples to guard texts from rats. They gained a special status. Author Stephen Mansfield notes cats live fully in the present with calm focus. Japanese stories often show cats as kind bringers of luck, like the maneki neko figurine. Legend says one such cat saved a lord from lightning at a Kyoto temple. Today these statues are common in shops seeking good fortune. Japan’s cats need enough people to care for them amid population decline.
