PUBLISHED : 27 Mar 2026 at 15:39
Visitors ride a boat and take a selfie with cherry blossoms at Chidorigafuchi Park in Tokyo on Thursday. (Photo: Reuters)
The Japanese government on Friday approved its next basic tourism plan including steps to bring the number of areas with measures against overtourism to 100 by 2030, the first time it has set a target on the issue.
The plan approved by the cabinet says quality of life for residents in popular destinations is being impacted by large concentrations of visitors and that Japan needs to strengthen overtourism measures in accepting more inbound visitors, an important driver for the nation’s economy.
To date, 47 areas including Kyoto in western Japan have been advancing initiatives based on residents’ feedback.
The next basic tourism promotion plan covers five years from fiscal 2026 to 2030. It maintains the government’s existing targets to increase inbound visitor numbers to 60 million and their annual spending to 15 trillion yen (3 trillion baht ) by 2030.
The plan’s measures on overtourism include easing congestion on local roads and limiting visitor numbers. It promotes improved transportation capabilities to draw people to regional destinations.
It also says the government will consider drawing up guidelines for public tourism facilities on dual pricing for residents and inbound visitors.
Other specific goals include raising per capita spending by inbound visitors from 229,000 yen in 2025 to 250,000 yen by 2030 and increasing the number of repeat visitors from 27.61 million to 40 million.
Foreign visitors to Japan in 2025 hit an estimated record of 42.7 million, with their spending also at a new all-time high of 9.5 trillion yen. February set a monthly record of around 3.47 million inbound tourists, government estimates show.
AloJapan.com