
TOKYO -- When it comes to pampering pets, few people top the Japanese. The market for pet products and services is growing robustly in Japan, even as the number of pets falls. And as households grow smaller, pet owners are more inclined to treat their animal companions as full members of the family.
Many would not think twice about spending hundreds of thousands of yen for Fido or Fluffy to have an MRI scan or go under the knife. But it is not just pooches that get doted on -- pet insurance policies now cover everything from rodents to reptiles.