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Until last October Japan had no government body dealing exclusively with the tourist industry. That changed with the creation of the Japan Tourism Agency and the appointment of Yoshiaki Hompo as its commissioner.
The man responsible for hiking up tourist numbers is vibrant and determined. His agency has come up with an action plan that envisages a "nation built on tourism," increasing overseas visitors to Japan to 10 million by 2010 and 20 million by 2020. Japan currently receives slightly over 8 million visitors a year.
"It is a formidable challenge against very high expectations and low organizational capacity," Hompo said. But by setting up the national tourism agency the government sent a strong message and encouragement to the travel industry and to local tourist sites around the country, he observed.
The high expectations follow upon the success of an earlier "Visit Japan Campaign" initiated by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Begun in 2003, the campaign achieved a 60 percent increase in the number of foreign visitors to the country by 2007.
Local municipalities and travel companies poured funds into advertising their unique geographical, historical and cultural features.
In addition to such efforts, Hompo attributes the successful tourism promotion to what he calls Japan's “brand images” – its world-renowned industry leaders including Toyota, Honda and Sony. Recently, the country’s branding has been reinforced by pop culture creations such as manga comics, animation and TV games.
Hompo has one headache however: a constant decline in both the number of American visitors – traditionally top of the list but now ranked No. 4 with just 770,000 visitors in 2008 – and Japanese travelers to the United States, significantly reduced after the introduction of unpleasant anti-terrorism procedures at U.S. entry points.
Currently Japan ranks below other Asian nations, such as Taiwan and South Korea, in terms of its inbound-outbound tourist ratio. Its tourism trade with other countries is the lowest among the G8 countries.
"Obviously, there is much potential to develop the business," Hompo said. "I want to promote not just inbound travel by foreigners but also international exchanges by Japanese citizens through outbound tourism," he said. His agency hopes to help boost the number of Japanese travelers overseas to 20 million by 2010.
Many Japanese feel this is not a favorable time to talk about tourism, when daily newspapers are saturated with stories about recession, unemployment and crises popping up everywhere. But Hompo is looking at the other side of the coin.
"Through this difficult period, the Japan Travel Agency and tourism in general will become more competitive," he said. As an unexpected side effect of the recession-bound economy, a supplementary budget is under discussion in the Diet, Japan’s parliament, which would allocate 50 percent more funds for the promotion of tourism.
Though not necessarily a legacy of the isolationist policy of medieval Japan, there are many impediments for the country to welcome foreigners. Language is one of the problems most frequently cited by foreign visitors. But local hotels and inns are making desperate efforts to make non-Japanese speakers comfortable.
A more recent problem is the strong yen, which remains high against most major currencies including the U.S. dollar. But Japan offers a wide range of services, from reasonably priced tours to luxury vacations.
Hompo envisions a six-fold increase in Chinese visitors to Japan by 2020, overtaking South Koreans, which are currently the most frequent visitors to Japan, with 2.3 million arriving in 2008.
His forecast is based on China's geographical proximity as well as Japan's popularity as a travel destination among Chinese people. But Japan at the moment extends tourist visas to Chinese only through group tour organizers that provide accompanying tour guides, in an effort to prevent tourists from going missing during their visit.
Hompo expects there will be a gradual relaxation of visa regulations, starting with individual visas for business travelers.
As for fingerprinting and photographing at immigration points – measures introduced by law amid security concerns linked to the "war on terror” – changing these will require amending the law, Hompo explained, and therefore are likely to remain in place for the time being.
Nonetheless, the screening may be relaxed for long-staying foreigners, who have to undergo this inconvenience every time they enter the country. Such a request has been lodged at the Ministry of Justice on behalf of foreigners resident in Japan.
Fostering a society that will accept 20 million overseas visitors a year requires a “second opening” of the country, the tourism agency says in its action plan, comparing its ambitious initiative with the revolutionary drive that put an end to Japan’s isolation more than 130 years ago.
