Marie,
As Japan goes, so goes Taiwan. See this article from the Taipei Times on Saturday, just like Japan.
Danny

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/10/02/2003274103

Nation’s pet-pampering becoming a lucrative business

HIGHLIGHTS AND SPAS: Like pets in other wealthy Asian countries, Taiwan’s pooches and felines are living larger than ever — thanks to new stores catering to their comfort

2-year-old Harry lives a life many would envy. He has lots of toys, designer clothes and a maid who tends him 24 hours a day. He even has orange highlights in his hair and often enjoys spa treatments.
Not bad, considering Harry is a red poodle.

The pampered pooch lives in Taipei with his owner Cindy Tsai, who also has a three-year-old golden retriever and spends over NT$12,000 (US$363) on her dogs each month.

“My dogs are like my sons, and I want the best for them. In fact, I hire a maid not to take care of me but them,” Tsai says.

Tsai is among a growing number of Taiwanese people who are willing to lavish money on their pets, creating an industry that observers estimate to be worth more than NT$20 billion a year.

There are more than 1.3 million household dogs and nearly 250,000 domestic cats kept by the nation’s 23 million people, according to figures released by the Council of Agriculture (COA).

Pet cafes and restaurants have mushroomed across the country in the past few years — reflecting a trend in wealthy Asian societies from Hong Kong to Tokyo — while boutiques, photo studios, clubs, hotels and spas open one after another to cash in on the trend.