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Business trends

Closure of Japan's gateway to Asia risks denting tourism boom

Budget airlines respond to typhoon by moving flights and offering refunds

One of the two spans of the access bridge to Kansai Airport was damaged by a drifting tanker.
One of the two spans of the access bridge to Kansai Airport was damaged by a drifting tanker.   © Kyodo

TOKYO -- Japan's main gateway for Asian tourists, Kansai International Airport, has remained shut down in the wake of Typhoon Jebi, threatening to disrupt the growing tourism that has been a key engine of the Osaka-area economy.

Foreign tourists were left stranded on Wednesday as airlines scurried to reroute flights away from the flooded airport. The most powerful storm to strike Japan in 25 years has forced many budget airlines flying to the rest of Asia to cancel flights and rearrange bookings.

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