March 2011 Disaster-Hit Areas Trying to Lure Foreign Visitors

Rikuzentakata, Iwate Pref., Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)--Northeastern Japan areas hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami are making efforts to create a welcoming environment for foreign tourists before the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in the country. Such areas include the city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, which trains foreign language-speaking regional guides for foreign visitors. "Everything was washed out," Marife Sugawara, 52, from the Philippines, told foreign university students visiting Japan for fieldwork at a "Michi-no-Eki" roadside rest area in the city earlier this month. Speaking in English, she explained reconstruction of disaster-hit areas started from zero. "What is very important is to save your life first," said Sugawara, whose home was swept away by the tsunami. "Save your own life first, and you can save another life." The students listened earnestly. Using the central government's system, the city created a special deregulation zone to start a regional version of foreign language-speaking licensed guides for foreign tourists. In February, the city certified four guides, including Sugawara. The regional tour guide services are provided in English, Chinese, Tagalog and Spanish. Rikuzentakata "will be known in greater depth through guide services provided by people who continue to live in disaster-hit areas, like Marife," said Aya Yokosawa of Marugoto Rikuzentakata, a group that arranges guides for tourists. According to the transport ministry's Tohoku District Transport Bureau, the number of foreign visitors to the three heavily damaged prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima in 2016 grew 20 pct from the previous year to 371,000, recovering to levels before the disaster for the first time. The number of visitors to coastal areas hit by the tsunami is also on the rise. "Visitors have increased, as the city became known worldwide as a disaster-hit area and exchanges that began after the disasters, mainly those involving volunteers from foreign countries, continued," said a Rikuzentakata official. In Miyagi Prefecture, the city of Kesennuma is developing "Olle" South Korean-style trekking courses, aiming to open its first course in February next year. Olle is expected to boost regional tourism. Kyushu Olle, launched in the southwestern region of Kyushu in 2012, has attracted more than 200,000 visitors, mainly from South Korea. Meanwhile, Fukushima Prefecture has seen a plunge in the number of South Korean visitors, due to a negative image following the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 plant. In 2016, the number of South Korean visitors to the prefecture stood at only 10 pct of predisaster levels. The prefecture is taking aim at Taiwan and Thailand, where its image is less negative. The Fukushima government has opened Facebook accounts for Thai and Taiwanese tourists. It outsources updating work to companies there to reflect the viewpoint of local people. According to the prefecture, it has earned some 110,000 "likes" on its Facebook account for Thai people, the highest number for a Japanese local government account for the Thais. The effort has helped increase the number of tourists to the prefecture, officials said. END