The government's new tourism strategy aims to attract 40 million visitors from abroad and have them spend ¥8 trillion a year by 2020 — both goals about twice what was achieved in 2015. It is indeed an ambitious plan that would turn Japan into one of the world's major travel destinations. The number of inbound tourists roughly doubled over the past two years, but it can't be taken for granted this trajectory will continue. The government should work out an action plan with concrete steps to enhance conveniences for visitors, including improved accommodations and easy access to interesting tourist spots.

When the Visit Japan Campaign was launched in 2003, inbound tourists numbered 5.2 million. The campaign set out to increase the total to 10 million in seven years. The figure reached 8.6 million in 2010 but plunged to 6.2 million the next year, when the nation was hit by the 3/11 quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. Inbound tourism has since picked up again with a sharp increase in visitors from Asian economies as the weak yen made such excursions more affordable and the government eased visa regulations for tourists from Asia. The total topped 10 million for the first time in 2013 and surged to 19.73 million last year. Consumption by these visitors increased to ¥3.47 trillion in 2015, thanks in particular to buying sprees by Chinese visitors.

According to the Japan Tourism Agency, total tourism-related spending in 2013 hit ¥23.6 trillion, creating ripple effects to the tourism industry worth ¥48.8 trillion and 4.19 million jobs. Tourism has become one of the nation's major industries — and a rare growth sector amid the shrinking population —and can expect further growth if tourist numbers continue to increase.