AsiaOne News: Cheap Yen, Fading Fukushima Fears Lure Japan Tourists

Above, a view of Yokohama from the Landmark Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We are now approaching the fourth anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disasters. These, and Japan's high yen, sent the Japan tourism industry into a major tailspin.

Four years later, Japan's tourism industry has rebounded and fears over radiation has subsided. And, the yen is a lot cheaper than it was four years ago.

AsiaOne News has a two-page article on Japan's rebound.

It begins with:

TOKYO - The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that smashed into Japan laid waste to the country's tourism industry, leaving a coastline in ruins, killing thousands and sparking the worst atomic crisis in a generation. 

But, four years on, the sector is bouncing back, shattering expectations on visitor numbers, largely owing to a weak yen and fading fears about the fallout from the Fukushima disaster. 

Worries about radiation sent the number of inbound visitors to Japan into a steep dive and the thought of attracting new tourists seemed an impossible goal in the days and weeks after the catastrophe. 

But last year Tokyo logged a record 13.41 million international visitors, double the number of 2011 and more than half of the 20 million it hopes to attract during the 2020 Olympic Games.

To read more, go here.