Young Japanese See Return of International Tourists as Route to Economic Recovery

Society Travel Dec 21, 2022

A poll of Japanese teenagers found that they generally supported the opening up of borders to international tourists after more than two years of tight restrictions.

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The Nippon Foundation conducted an online survey in late October, targeting 1,000 participants aged 17 through 19, to find out how young people view the relaxation of Japan’s COVID-19 border measures.

The results revealed that 74.7% of all respondents “support” or “somewhat support” changes making entry easier for foreign visitors, the number for which has dropped significantly since 2020. At 78.4%, boys in particular supported the move.

Among the reasons for agreeing with easing border measures, an overwhelming 63.7% said it “will lead to economic recovery,” followed by 36.3% who “want to quickly return to pre-pandemic daily life,” and 35.9% who think it “will lead to regional revitalization.”

In contrast, many of the respondents who were against relaxation of the border measures raised concerns about overseas travelers bringing COVID-19 or other infectious diseases into the country.

Along with relaxation of border measures, 67.5% of respondents thought that the recent depreciation of the yen would lead to an increased number of foreign tourists visiting Japan. Meanwhile, only 36.3% felt that outbound tourists from Japan would increase.

tourism COVID-19