The central authority in direct charge of tourism is the Department of Tourism, Transport Policy Bureau, Ministry of Transport (MOT).
The initial establishment within the Government of an organ in charge of tourism dates back to 1930 when the Board of Tourist Industry was set up by MOT (then Ministry of Railways). The main activities of the Board were the promotion of travel to Japan and the improvement of receiving services and facilities in Japan for foreign visitors. The Board was abolished during World War II but the Government's tourism activities were resumed when the Tourist Division was established in MOT in 1946.
After several organizational changes, the Department of Tourism is now a function of Transport Policy Bureau, MOT.
In the field of international tourism in Japan, MOT functions as the central administrative agency, representing the nation in the community of international organizations and at international gatherings relating to tourism.
Regarding domestic tourism, other governmental agencies are also concerned with tourism within their respective scopes of activities, including the Environment Agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Construction and National Land Agency.
2 Japan National Tourist Organization
The Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), established by law in April 1959 and reorganized in the years of 1964, 1979, 1983 and 1985, is a nonprofit organization designed to promote inbound travel to Japan and to provide information to Japanese travelers on traveling safely overseas under the direction of MOT.
The original form of JNTO, as a promotion body for travel to Japan based on the Government's policy, was the nonprofit International Tourist Association (ITA) established in 1931. As ITA was dissolved during World War II, the Japan Tourist Association (JTA) was formed in 1955 to promote the same purpose as set forth for ITA and in 1959, and it was transformed by law into the Japan National Tourist Association (JNTA).
JNTA was a combined body of JTA and the Japan Federation of Tourist Associations, which had been formed by local tourist associations and industries throughout the nation. JNTA had the dual purpose of the promotion of both international and domestic tourism.
Later in 1964, JNTA was again split into the two organizations existing at present. One is JNTO, established by a special law, and the other, JTA which promotes domestic tourism in Japan. With the amendment to the JNTO Law in 1979 and 1985, JNTO was given two additional responsibilities: dissemination of information on safe travel to Japanese overseas tourists and implementation of the National Examination for Guide Interpreters.
3 International Tourism
(1) Japanese Overseas Travel
The number of Japanese who traveled abroad during 1994 was 13,578,934, a two-digit increase of 13.8% over the previous year, renewing its record again.
Following the monetary liberalization of overseas travel in 1964, the drive to travel abroad has continued unabatedly, encouraged by steady increases in national income and free time coupled with the rapid development of a variety of package tours.
The remarkable two-digit percentage increases, skyrocketing between 40-60%, continued until the sudden slow-down caused by the first oil crisis in 1973. Fortunately, the upward trend survived, and in two years, the percentage of growth returned to its two-digit increase.
In 1980, however, the growth of the Japanese overseas travel market experienced its first setback since the liberalization mainly due to inflation.
In combination with successive rises in international air fares, this downturn was caused by the second oil crisis which devalued the disposable income of wage-earning households and instilled in them a rather dismal economic outlook for the future.
