Takao Nagashima sailed through plenty of rough seas during his years as a cargo ship captain, but none that prepared the tour guide boss for the financial crisis-caused currency storm that has buffetted his business in Japan’s western port city of Fukuoka.

The resurgent Japanese yen’s climb against the currency of crisis-hit South Korea – less than three hours from Fukuoka by high-speed ferry – has brought the flow of tourists on which Mr Nagashima depends to a trickle and forced him to lay off two of his four guides.