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South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Why young Japanese are ditching passports and overseas travel
Just 17.5 per cent of Japanese currently hold a passport, according to a recent study, a figure that industry experts say reflects the growing preference for domestic travel amid a weak yen, rising flight costs and heightened concerns about safety in many parts of the world. The figure, drawn from research conducted through the Newt travel app, places Japan well behind several developed economies in terms of international travel readiness. In comparison, about 40 per cent of South Koreans, 50 per cent of US citizens and 60 per cent of Taiwanese hold valid passports. Those findings align with research by the outbound promotion division of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), according to executive director Hiroshi Tanimura. 'The research we have done especially indicates that young people are not willing to travel overseas and prefer to travel within Japan,' he told This Week in Asia. 'The weak yen is one big reason why overseas travel is 70 per cent of what it was before the pandemic.' People wait to check in at the departure hall of Haneda Airport in Tokyo. A recent study has placed Japan well behind several developed economies in terms of international travel readiness. Photo: AFP Even more worrying is that business travel has picked up a lot of the slack, recovering to more than 80 per cent of pre-pandemic figures, leaving the leisure market at just 53 per cent, according to Tanimura.
GMA Network
20-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Marcos meets with Japanese tourism sector
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. met with Japanese tourism partners on Friday as part of his working visit in Japan. In a meeting with tourism stakeholders, Marcos was given an overview of key interests and opportunities for Philippine tourism in Japan. The stakeholders represent important areas of tourism, including industry associations, travel and tour companies, airlines and airports. Those part of the meeting were the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Kansai / JTB West Japan Area Representative, Japan Philippines Tourism Council (JPTC), Kansai Regional Division, HIS Co., Ltd., Nippon Travel Agency, Hankyu Travel International Co., Ltd., Kansai Airports, Philippine Airlines (PAL), and Cebu Pacific. According to Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, Marcos highlighted his prioritization of tourism development through the help of infrastructure. She said the President mentioned the development of airports in the metro and in other regions. ''This was received very well by our Japanese stakeholders, especially considering that our data shows that Japanese travelers favor Cebu, Palawan, Boracay, Bohol, and are also very interested in other emerging island destinations across the country,'' she said. The President also gave his commitment as regards the Philippine government's continued prioritization of connectivity, Frasco said. Marcos also mentioned the Department of Tourism's Philippine Experience Heritage, Culture, and Arts Caravans. Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano said Marcos wants to show his appreciation to all those who worked together in producing the Philippine Pavilion at the World Expo Osaka 2025. She also described relations between the Philippines and Japan as robust, with many sectors being active as a result of an exchange of high-level visits from both countries in recent months and years. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Japan Times
25-02-2025
- Japan Times
Only 17% of Japanese people own passports, Foreign Ministry says
The Japanese passport is According to numbers the Foreign Ministry released last week, around 3.7 million passports were issued domestically in 2024, a 8.8% increase from the year before but down 15.2% from 2019. The total number of valid passports in the country was around 20.77 million, amounting to around 16.8% of the total population. This is considerably low compared to other countries such as the U.S. and U.K., where those who have passports stands at around 50% and 85% respectively. Japan has always had a low rate of people with passports compared to other countries, consistently hovering around 22%-24% in the 2010s. But the percentage dropped further during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained low since. A Foreign Ministry official in charge of the survey said that although the government is not sure of the exact reason why passport numbers continue to be low in Japan, one reason that is often cited is the weak yen, which has deterred many from traveling or studying abroad. According to the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), border restrictions that were in place for three years in Japan during the pandemic have further dampened people's desire to travel, especially among younger people. Earlier this year, JATA President Hiroyuki Takahashi raised concerns that the decline in interest among young people to travel abroad and see other countries may compromise Japan's international competitiveness in the future. 'International exchange is based on mutually beneficial relationships between countries, so the current severe imbalance between inbound and outbound tourism needs to be corrected as soon as possible,' he said. Although there are some signs of recovery, the number of Japanese students studying abroad remains low compared to prepandemic levels. Only 58,162 college students participated in short- to midterm exchange programs from Japanese universities in the fiscal year through March 2023, according to the most recent numbers from the education ministry-affiliated Japan Student Services Organization. This is only around half the number of those who studied abroad in the fiscal years of 2018 and 2019. The number of Japanese students of all ages studying abroad for the long term has also continued to fall, with the figure for 2022 only at 41,612, or about half the peak of 82,945 recorded in 2004. This is in sharp contrast to the rising number of foreign students studying in Japan. The JATA's Takahashi urged the government to spearhead measures to encourage more young people to have experiences abroad, including measures to provide passports for free to young people traveling overseas for the first time.
