It is necessary to exercise wisdom regarding how to form good relations with visitors to Japan from countries whose customs and cultures differ from our own.
The number of foreign tourists to Japan stood at 28.69 million last year, up 19 percent from a year earlier. A new all-time high has been set for five consecutive years, and the figure soared more than threefold over that time.
The government has said it is aiming to raise the figure to 40 million by 2020, when the Tokyo Olympics will be held. Calculations show this goal will be achieved if the number of visitors increases by 12 percent in each of the three years to come.
The amount of money spent by foreign tourists for such purposes as shopping and accommodations last year reached 4.4 trillion yen. Its scale compares favorably with the value of car exports to the United States.
The growth in the number of foreign visitors to Japan is underpinning consumption at a time when society is undergoing a population decrease, and is also contributing to regional revitalization. It is hoped that continued efforts will be made to proactively attract foreign tourists to our nation.
It is worrying that the increase in foreign tourists is beginning to pose a problem for the lives of residents in some sightseeing areas.
In Kyoto, municipal buses are so heavily crowded that elderly residents frequently cannot sit down. Beginning in March, the city government will raise the price of a one-day ticket, which is used by many foreign visitors, hoping to lead them to use subway train services.
The central government should hurriedly consider measures to reduce the burden on local communities in cooperation with their local governments, not just devising steps to draw foreign travelers to Japan.
The tourist destinations favored by foreign visitors still tend to center on Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Further efforts should be made to draw them to other regions.
Teach visitors the rules
The housing and accommodation business law will go into effect in June, lifting a ban on minpaku, or using unoccupied rooms at condominiums and other private residences to temporarily accommodate lodgers for a fee. It will also be made possible to provide accommodations for up to 180 days per year even in residential areas where there is a legal ban on the operation of inns.
The minpaku business is believed to already be widespread. Many local governments are receiving complaints from local residents, who say they are concerned about unknown foreign visitors going in and out of condominiums, for example.
Tokyo's Ota Ward office has completely banned the minpaku business in residential areas. There has also been a succession of similar moves in Hyogo Prefecture and elsewhere, reflecting the opinions of local residents and others.
The minpaku system is aimed at making up for the shortage of hotels in urban areas, and encouraging the diversification of tourist destinations by broadening the range of options for accommodations.
Minpaku business operators must sufficiently explain to customers about such matters as troublesome behavior they should avoid and sanitation.
Although public health centers are in charge of supervising such matters, it is not an easy task for them to grasp the state of all minpaku facilities. To prevent trouble with residents in the vicinity of minpaku facilities, it is indispensable for their operators to realize their own responsibility in this respect.
In January 2019, the government intends to introduce an "international tourist tax" to be collected from people when they depart from our country, including Japanese nationals. The main purpose of the revenue from the tax is to promote Japanese tourism. It will be important not only to advertise Japanese tourism but to look at the matter from such points of view as living habits and manners.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 28, 2018)
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