[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the fifth meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, views were exchanged on the draft 2015 Action Program toward the Realization of Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country, after which the Prime Minister said,

“Over the two year period leading up to last year, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan grew by five million, bringing the annual number of visitors to over 13 million. Since the start of this year, there have been over 40% more visitors compared to the same period last year.

Today, we have approved an Action Program that will ensure that this trend is not temporary and that tourists are drawn to all parts of the country. As part of that plan, we have strengthened the CIQ system so that all necessary preparations are in place for the coming era in which 20 million tourists visit Japan annually. Additionally, we will promote the creation of tax-free shops in shopping areas and elsewhere, expanding the current number of over 6,000 tax-free shops in the regions to around 20,000 shops by 2020. Furthermore, we will enhance the revenue-generating ability of tourism, doubling the 2 trillion yen spent by foreign tourists last year, such that in the year when 20 million tourists visit Japan, they will spend 4 trillion yen.

Some time ago, I visited Koyasan and Kumano Hongu Taisha in Wakayama Prefecture. People there are having great success by carefully responding to the needs of foreign tourists. Taking into consideration such initiatives, we will increase the number of interpreter guides working across the country, advance policies such as those that strengthen promotional efforts by tourism associations, and create tourist areas that people want to visit again and again.
We will exert every effort to implement the Action Program, while also revising it each year, and I would like to ask for the cooperation of the relevant ministers to that end.”