Coronavirus could hit Japan’s economy harder than SARS

A monitor displays an image of a thermal scanner as a passenger passes through a quarantine station at Narita Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. Airports and airlines are taking steps to protect staff and passengers amid heightened concern over the outbreak of a new virus originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

TOKYO: China’s escalating viral outbreak may end up hitting Japan’s fragile economy harder than the SARS outbreak of 2003, according to economists.

Tourism has become a much more important prop to Japan’s growth over the last decade, and Chinese tourists are the biggest-spenders. That’s why China’s decision Saturday to start blocking outbound tour groups to try to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus has some Japan economists concerned.