KUMAMOTO – The government will take measures to support tourism in the Kyushu region including Kumamoto Prefecture, hit hard by last month’s massive earthquake, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Saturday.
The measures will be included in the upcoming aid package due out this month. A government source said that the package will feature a travel fee discount campaign for the region.
“We want to carry out promotion efforts to help attract visitors to the whole Kyushu region,” Kihara told reporters in the city of Kumamoto. “We’ll include concrete plans to inspire sightseeing demand for reconstruction.”
Kihara, who is from the prefecture, visited disaster-affected areas in the prefecture for the first time since the quake struck on July 28, measuring up to shindo 7, the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.
During his visit from Friday, Kihara inspected the Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping facility, where a fatal blast occurred following the temblor, and Kumamoto Castle, where a stone wall was damaged.
“We need to deeply consider how we can protect livelihoods in the region, not only how to restore infrastructure,” he said.
AloJapan.com