Foreign Tourists Vital To Japan's Economy and Foreign Relations

Above, a Nagasaki tour boat prepares to depart. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Asahi Shimbun posted an editorial on the importance of having foreign tourists visit Japan.

They wrote:

An increase in the number of foreign visitors brings economic and various other benefits to Japan. 

Spending by foreign tourists on hotels, restaurants, leisure activities and shopping contributes a great deal to revitalizing the local economies. Main tourist resources are basically existing facilities, social and cultural assets, and natural scenery. In other words, there can be effective ideas to increase tourism that don’t involve any massive investment. That’s why tourism is an important element in the government’s strategy for stoking economic growth.

Japan now is trying to reach a goal of 20 million foreign visitors per year by the 2020 Olympics.

To read the full editorial, go here.