Japanese tourism fights back despite trials of 2011

More than 10 months after the 11th March earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima meltdown, Japan is still dealing with the fallout - this time the key industry of tourism is reeling from the catastrophe.
According to new Japanese Government figures, the number of foreign nationals entering Japan dropped 24.4% from a record of 9.45 million in 2010 to 7.14 million in 2011.
New entries of foreign nationals - a figure that excludes working or studying expatriates that may have returned after home leave - made a similarly dismal showing. The Immigration Bureau of the Justice Ministry said new entrants fell from 7.92 million in 2010 to 5.45 million in 2010, slumping 31.2%.
The Government says a combination of the 11th March disasters and the high level of the Japanese yen were the key factors in the decline.
The Japanese Government is already going to extraordinary lengths to woo tourists back to Japan. Recently, Hiroshi Mizohata, the commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, reportedly sang the South Korean national anthem at two meetings in Seoul in a bid to lure South Korean tourists back to Japan.
South Koreans form the largest number of foreign visitors to Japan, accounting for 28.3% of foreign visitors in 2010.
A spokeswoman for the Japan National Tourism Organisation told CNN that April registered the worst monthly fall in 2011, slumping as much as 80% on the same period a year ago.
The spokeswoman explained "it dropped sharply right after the disaster, but has gradually recovered towards end of the year.
"Initially people were very concerned about the impact of radiation from the disaster, but it seems that visitors who had already been planning to travel to Japan are gradually coming back."
Nevertheless, she said it would still take time for Japan to return to the heady numbers of 2010, adding "we are really hoping that tourists will come and visit Japan during the cherry blossom season this year."
Among initiatives to attract new visitors, Japan is to form a new national body to promote sport tourism, with the Japan Tourism Agency set to bring together a national consortium of sport federations and tourism agencies in April.

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