Japan's win Wednesday over North Korea, which secured its berth at the 2006 World Cup soccer finals in Germany, is a source of delight for travel agents and consumer electronics stores nationwide.
"We want to gain momentum from the World Cup (next June) before the summer travel season," remarked an official at travel agent JTB Corp.
JTB chartered planes to carry 600 Japanese fans when Japan took part in the 1998 World Cup finals in France.
Ishimaru Denki Co., which operates electronics stores, expects to see a sales uptick in the runup to the 2006 World Cup, having seen robust sales of expensive large-screen TVs and DVD recorders ahead of last year's Athens Olympics, a company spokesman said.
Liquid crystal display and plasma display TVs may sell well this summer thanks to their lowered prices, a brokerage official said.
"Japan's qualification for the 2006 World Cup could have substantial economic effects that would benefit mainly the consumer electronics, tourism and advertisement sectors," the official said.