Monday marked half a year since the eruption of Mt. Motoshirane in Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture.
Although volcanic activity has eased in the vicinity, known as the Mt. Kusatsushirane area, locations around the crater remain off-limits, while National Highway Route 292 -- also known as the Shiga Kusatsu Kogen route -- which connects the popular hot spring resort town of Kusatsu and Nagano Prefecture, remains closed.
The number of tourists that visited Kusatsu in May and June was 15 percent lower year-on-year.
The Kusatsu municipal government has been making efforts to promote the town's safety and debating whether to open the route during daytime, but a plan and specific measures remain undecided.
The Jan. 23 eruption of 2,171-meter Mt. Motoshirane, the highest peak in the Mt. Kusatsushirane area, killed a Ground Self-Defense Force member and injured 11 people, including visitors at a local ski resort.
In April, Mt. Shirane, a 2,160-meter mountain located north of Mt. Motoshirane, began showing signs of intensified volcanic activity. The Japan Meteorological Agency on April 22 raised the volcanic alert level of Mt. Shirane to Level 2 to prohibit entry to areas around its crater.
Subsequently, the Gunma prefectural government decided to close an 8.5-kilometer section of the route, which had reopened only two days before following the lifting of the winter closure.
The municipal government has been promoting the safety of its hot spring resort, which is located far from the crater. As a result, the year-on-year drop in the number of tourists to the town for the February to April period remained at about 5 percent. However, after the route was closed again, the drop ballooned to double digits.
The summer tourist season has arrived, but according to Yukio Kuroiwa, president of the long-established Boun inn, "Reservations for August and onward have been sluggish."
The agency believes the situation in the areas "is not yet in a phase where the volcanic alert can be lowered."
Kusatsu Mayor Nobutada Kuroiwa said, "If this situation continues, businesses will struggle."
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