An Aloha Airlines map of the Hawaiian Islands, depicted in a vintage mural at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, illustrates the inter-island routes that once connected Oʻahu to Maui and the neighbor islands. A new state report calls for rebuilding Japanese visitor demand beyond Waikīkī to draw more travelers to those destinations. PC: Brian Perry
Japanese visitors have been drawn more to Waikīkī than to Maui’s resorts, and a new state report calls for changing that by rebuilding and diversifying Japanese visitor demand.
On Monday, the Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism released Hawaiʻi–Japan Economic Relationship and Impact, a comprehensive look at one of the state’s most important international partnerships spanning tourism, real estate, defense, agriculture, education and finance.
Japan’s influence on Hawaiʻi’s economy
The numbers underscore how deeply Japan is woven into Hawaiʻi’s economy: Japanese entities hold 55.5% of all foreign-owned property, plants and equipment in the state, and more than half of all Hawaiʻi workers employed by foreign-owned businesses work for Japanese-owned firms. Japan has been the state’s top import supplier for the past decade.
But the tourism picture is more complicated — and for Maui, it carries a potential opportunity.
A stalled Japanese visitor recovery; an opportunity for Maui
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Japanese visitor arrivals have recovered to just 46.4% of pre-pandemic levels statewide, trailing the rebound seen elsewhere in Asia-Pacific. Recent monthly data shows gradual improvement, with Japanese arrivals up 4.5% in January 2026 compared to the prior year. But the report makes clear that recovery is far from complete — and that when Japanese visitors do come, they largely stay on O’ahu.
“Japanese visitors have fallen in love with Hawaiʻi largely through their experiences on Oʻahu,” says a DBEDT news release. “In fact, only 13.6% visited Kauaʻi, Maui, or Hawaiʻi Island—a far smaller share than other major visitor markets. With each island offering a unique experience, most Japanese visitors have only seen a small fraction of what the state has to offer.”
For Maui, the gap matters. According to the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, the island draws nearly 90% of its visitors from the US Mainland — a base that has recovered steadily since the 2023 Lahaina fires but offers limited room for growth.
Japanese travelers represent a different visitor profile: they spend a higher proportion of their budgets on shopping than tourists from any other major visitor market, making them among the most economically valuable visitors the island can attract. Still impacted by the August 2023 wildfires, hotel occupancy in Maui County reached 68% in March 2026, up slightly from the year before, but Japanese travelers have barely factored into that recovery.
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“Japan remains Hawaiʻi’s closest and most significant global economic partner,” said James Kunane Tokioka, DBEDT director. “This report provides a clear overview of key sectors while opening new avenues for collaboration that benefit both Hawaiʻi and Japan.”
Tokioka said the state plans to work with airlines, travel agencies and retail partners in Japan to promote new itineraries and rebuild visitor confidence, with a specific focus on drawing travelers beyond O’ahu.
“We know how important Japanese visitors are not just to tourism overall, but specifically to Hawaiʻi’s retail and small business community,” Tokioka said.
Other economic sectors
Beyond tourism, the report identifies several sectors where the Hawaiʻi-Japan relationship is strong or growing. Defense contracting is flagged as a high-growth area, defense spending accounts for 10.3% of the state’s gross domestic product and contracts are expanding by 14.3% annually. The report suggests Hawaiʻi-based subsidiaries of Japanese companies could play a larger role in construction, logistics and high-tech manufacturing tied to Indo-Pacific Command.
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Regarding housing, the report points to Japan’s prefabricated construction industry as an “emerging solution” for Hawaiʻi’s chronic housing shortage. It notes that the Japanese are the largest group of foreign buyers.
Hawaiʻi also hosts 44 Japanese-owned captive insurance companies, a niche but significant financial sector the report says should be protected and expanded.
Coming up next
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The findings will be presented at the Hawaiʻi–Japan Sister Summit, scheduled for May 20–21 in Honolulu. The panel presenting the report will include Tokioka, DBEDT economist Jake Vuillemin, Colbert Matsumoto of Tradewind Group, Neill Char of First Hawaiian Bank and Shinichiro Shimizu of JAL Group.
AloJapan.com