Japan sees surge in Chinese tourists

Despite strained relations, number of travelers from the mainland nearly doubles year-on-year

At about 10 pm at a drugstore in Tokyo's wealthy Akihabara district, two Japanese cashiers surnamed Nakayama and Mori were busy closing out their cash registers along with their Chinese colleague, a woman surnamed Xie.

Drugstores selling Japanese-made medicines and cosmetics are employing more Chinese at a time when the number of visits to Japan by Chinese travelers and shoppers has almost doubled compared with last year.