OVERTOURISM
Japan’s biggest travel agency JTB forecasted that overall tourist numbers this year would be “slightly lower” compared to 2025 due to a decrease in demand from China and Hong Kong.
Nevertheless, tourism income was expected to increase due to rising prices of items such as lodging and strong spending among visitors.
It added that due to an uptick in repeat visitors to Japan, the places people want to visit are shifting from large cities to rural areas.
Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, as complaints of overcrowding in hotspots like Kyoto grow.
As in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been a growing pushback from residents in the ancient capital.
The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples.
Locals have complained of disrespectful tourists harassing the geisha in a frenzy for photos, as well as causing traffic congestion and littering.
Elsewhere, exasperated officials have taken steps to improve visitors, including introducing an entry fee and a daily cap on the number of hikers climbing Mount Fuji.
A barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store in 2024 to stop people from standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral.
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