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April 19, 2025
 

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OVERTOURISM

A crowd of tourists walks through Nishiki Market in Kyoto in March. The number of foreign visitors to Japan was 3.5 million last month, bringing the total through the first quarter to 10.54 million.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2025
Japan crosses 10 million visitors mark at fastest ever pace
Arrivals of foreign visitors for business and leisure were 3.5 million last month, bringing the total through the first quarter to 10.54 million.
Visitors at Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, on March 5
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025
Myoko ski resort area feels trepidation as foreign money pours in
Many locals fear Myoko could go the way of Niseko.
Tourists gather at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station, which leads to the popular Yoshida Trail for hikers climbing Mount Fuji, ahead of its reopening for the season in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture in June 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2025
Mount Fuji hikers to be charged ¥4,000 on all trails
Yamanashi Prefecture is doubling its ¥2,000 ($14) entry fee for the Yoshida Trail, while Shizuoka Prefecture will charge the same amount for its three trails.
Japan is grappling with a budget shortfall, and while raising the tax-free threshold has sparked political debate, the country's booming tourism industry presents an untapped revenue source.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Japan has a revenue hole. Plug it with tourists
More than 35 years after sales tax was first introduced, it remains incredibly unpopular and reducing it is a regular promise of opposition parties.
Trash cans have been installed at Nara Park for the first time in about 40 years following a rise in littering alongside an increasing number of foreign tourists in recent years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2025
Rise in tourists prompts Nara Park to install trash cans to protect deer
Increased littering in the park has created a health hazard for the protected animal.
Visitors line up to take photos in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji in the background at the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Jan. 29.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025
Japan’s ‘hidden gems’ overwhelmed as social media drives influx of tourists
Local stakeholders struggle to cope with the surge in visitor numbers whenever a location suddenly goes viral.
As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025
New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act
Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
Hokkaido Railway temporarily suspended train services after a 61-year-old Chinese tourist was fatally struck by a train in the city of Otaru, Hokkaido, on Thursday morning.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025
Chinese tourist fatally struck by train in Hokkaido
The woman entered the Hakodate Line tracks near Asari Station in Otaru to photograph the ocean with her phone.
While Japan deals with so-called overtourism, the rest of the world is just getting back to pre-pandemic levels of visits from international travelers.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 24, 2025
Global tourism is back to pre-COVID highs
Global tourism generated nearly $1.6 trillion (about ¥250 trillion) in 2024, about 3% more than the previous year and 4% more than in 2019.
Tourists visit shops near Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine on Jan. 13. The nation's growing tourism sector, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but is straining the nation's infrastructure.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2025
Japan has '$100 billion' reasons to welcome more visitors
Japan's growing tourism, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but strains infrastructure, highlighting a need for smarter policies to manage overtourism.
Tourists visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in the city of Kyoto on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 15, 2025
Kyoto to raise accommodation tax to a maximum ¥10,000 per night
The collected money under the new plan would be used to improve infrastructure in the city, such as increasing public transportation.
The influx of foreign tourists in Japan is pushing up hotel room prices, forcing some business travelers to stay at capsule hotels.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 15, 2025
Japan's tourism boom prices out local business travelers
The average price of a basic room at a business hotel in Tokyo has nearly doubled between 2019 and last year.
Ginzan Onsen hot springs in Obanazawa, Yamagata Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2024
Picturesque Japan hot spring town limits day trippers
Authorities in Ginzan Onsen have become fed up with a rise in road problems, quarrels and other nuisances.
Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 23, 2024
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?
Inbound tourism to Japan reached a record high in 2024, but managing the crowds and ensuring sustainability remain a challenge.
New fencing was installed along the sidewalk near a convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Monday to prevent tourists from jaywalking and to improve safety.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024
New fencing installed to help manage tourists at Mount Fuji photo spot
The area in Fujikawaguchiko, a popular photography spot because of how Mount Fuji rises behind the convenience store, has gained traction on social media.
In the absence of a long-term revitalization strategy, the historic city of Venice will remain on the path to becoming a cultural mausoleum.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024
Venice’s beauty curse
UNESCO’s World Heritage designation for Venice comprises the city in its entirety, rather than select buildings or neighborhoods.
A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point as the mountain looms in the background in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 31.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
Shizuoka considers charging each Mount Fuji climber up to ¥5,000
The fees is designed to prevent overcrowding on trails and discourage dangerous overnight attempts to scale the mountain.
Deer attacks have surged in Nara Park during the fall rutting season, with male deer being particularly aggressive as they search for mates.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 14, 2024
Authorities warn of spike in deer-related injuries at Nara Park
In September, 35 people were injured by antler attacks — a sevenfold increase from the five cases reported during the same period last year.
New and strengthened rules aim to make street drinking a thing of the past in Shibuya's nightlife center — but the reality may not be that simple.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Oct 21, 2024
Can you drink in Shibuya and Shinjuku this Halloween? It depends.
Shibuya and Shinjuku are both planning on cracking down on street drinking this Halloween and beyond. But the problem might be bigger than a night of drunken revelry.
The city of Kyoto boasts historic artifacts and cityscapes that millions are willing to travel thousands of kilometers to see, but such treasures are not cheap to maintain, prompting the city to ask foreign tourists for a helping hand.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 13, 2024
Kyoto partners with e-gift service company to let tourists Donate & Go
The new donation service allows foreign tourists to contribute toward the preservation of cities they visit while receiving a gift in return.
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
Japan and the U.S. begin tariff talks on good terms, but without breakthroughs
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolts Nagano
A map showing the location of an earthquake that hit Nagano Prefecture on Friday evening, with the numbers indicating the seismic intensity on the shindo scale to 7.
Parts of Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines to be suspended over weekend
Sections of the outer loop of Tokyo's Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be shut down all day Saturday, and from the start of service through around noon on Sunday.
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla-creator Toho
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.
Privacy and transparency clash in debate over bill on artificial insemination
Sachiko Ishizuka, who was born via artificial insemination by donor (AID), tells her story to lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on April 9.

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