A tourism update of Japan with emphasis on Japanese outbound, profile of outbound travellers, Japanese population, Economic Indicators and Foreign Visitors

1. Country report
JAPAN

2. Fact File
Country Name: Japan
Capital : Tokyo
Administrative Divisions:
47 prefectures;
Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fu
kui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma
, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki,
Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima,
Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto,
Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagas
aki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Oki
nawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shi
mane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, T
okyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Ya
magata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi

3. Fact File
• Location: Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of
Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula
• Area: total: 377.9 sq km
• Population(millions): 128.1 (2010); Increase of only 0.2% from 2005
• Language: Japanese
• Currency: Japanese Yen (JPY)
• Time Difference: UTC/GMT + 9 hours
• Principal national holiday periods include New Year(28 Dec- 04 Jan); the Spring Break(20 Mar
- 05 Apr); Golden Week (28 Apr – 06 May); Summer Holidays(20 Jul – 31 Aug).
* Dates are approximate
• Major International Airports: Tokyo Narita(NRT), Kansai(KIX)

4. Physical Features
• Island Nation
• Islands form a crescent - shaped archipelago
• Consists of the main islands of
Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa, and more
than 6,800 smaller islands of varying sizes.
• Surface area is equivalent to 0.3 percent of the global land
mass.
• 66% forests, 13% farmland; 5 percent building land
• Prone to earthquakes and has active volcanoes

5. Surface Area of Japan (2010)
Area( in sq kms)
Japan ........................ 377,950
Main Islands
Honshu ..................... 231,115*
Hokkaido .................... 83,457
Kyushu ......................... 42,191
Shikoku ..................... ... 18,792*
Okinawa ........................ 2,276
* Excluding some areas of which boundaries are not yet fixed.
Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan

6. Climate
• Temperate Marine Climate
• Experiences hot, humid summers and cold, dry
winters.
• Has two long spells of rainy seasons, one in early
summer and the other in autumn
• From summer to autumn, tropical cyclones
generated in the tropical seas develop into typhoons
and hit Japan, sometimes causing storm and flood
damage.

7. Population
• 128,057,352 as of October 1, 2010
- Male: 62,327,737 (48.7% of the total population)
- Female: 65,729,615 (51.3 %)
• Population of foreign residents living in Japan: 1,648,000
(5.9% increase from 2005)
• Tokyo ranked at the top in the population increase rate with
4.6%, followed by Kanagawa-ken (2.9%), Chiba-ken (2.6%)

8. Decline in Population
• Japanese population is estimated to be declining by 0.1% a
year. UN’s forecast indicates that population will shrink by 3%
between 2009 and 2020.
• Life Expectancy at birth is 83 years.
• Two - thirds of the population is urban. Tokyo has 8.7 mn. The
other main cities are:
Yokohama(3.7mn), Osaka(2.7mn), Nagoya(2.2 mn)
Sapporo(1.9mn), Kobe (1.5 mn)
Kyoto(1.5mn), Fukuoka(1.4mn), Kawasaki(1.4 mn),
Saitama(1.2 mn), Hiroshima(1.2 mn), Sendai(1.0mn)

9. Reasons for Decline in Population
• Due to the sharp decrease in the younger generations.
• People tend to stay unmarried until they are in their
thirties or for the rest of their lives and a large proportion
of married couples decide not to have children.
• However, the decrease in population does not directly
result in the immediate fall in the travelling population.
On the contrary, the fast increasing seniors are a good
potential market for the next few decades. This calls for
change in marketing strategies for international
destinations.

10. Population Growth Rate : 1920 to 2010

11. Age - Wise
Breakdown (%) 2009e 2020f
0 - 4 years 4.2 3.5
5 - 14 years 9.1 8.1
15 - 24 years 10.2 9.4
25 - 34 years 13.0 10.3
35 - 44 years 14.3 13.0
45 - 54 years 12.5 14.8
55 - 64 years 14.7 12.3
65 - 74 years 11.5 13.9
75 - 84 years 7.6 9.5
85+ 2.9 5.1
Source: ETC

12. Change of population composition by age
group : 1920 to 2010

13. Age Group : Growth Pattern
• Percentage in 2009 were : 0 - 24 years: 23%; 25 -
59 years: 47% ; over 60 : 30%.
• Median age is 45 years much higher than the
world median of 29 years
• Declines of 13% in 0 - 24 years group and 8% in
25 - 59 years group.
•

14. Most Aging Country
• Highest percentage of the population aged 65 years
old (23%)and over in the world
• Japan is the most aging country in the world followed
by Germany and Italy both at 20.4%.

15. Economic Indicators
Item Year Figures
Population (millions) 2008 127.69
2009 127.51
2010 128.06
Projection(medium variant) 2050 95.15
Employed persons(1,000) 2009 62,820
Unemployed persons (1000) 2009 3,360
Unemployment rate(%) 2009 5.1
Industrial Production Index (2005 = 100) 2009 81.7
2010 94.3
Gross Domestic Product(US$ billion) 2008 4,892
2009 5,042
Gross domestic product (PPP, US$) per capita 2009 32,554.2

16. Number of Households
• Number of households of Japan was 51,950,504 as
of October 1, 2010
• Number of private households was 51,842,000
• Number of one-person households was 16,785,000
and formed the largest category among private
households (more than 30%)

17. Private households by size of households: 1990
to 2010
In the population aged 65 and over, one in 10 males and one in 5
females were living alone.

18. Travel & Tourism Indicators
• T&T industry, 2010 estimates
Percent 2011-2020
of Total Annual Growth
(% forecast)
GDP (US$ millions) : 172,546 3.4 2.1
Employment (1,000 jobs) : 2,294 3.7 1.0
• T&T economy, 2010 estimates
GDP (US$ millions) : 459,323 9.2 2.5
Employment (1,000 jobs) : 6,062 9.8 1.2
Source: World Travel & Tourism Council, TSA Research 2010

19. Travel & Tourism Competiveness
• Travel & Tourism Infrastructure
Out of 139 countries Japan ranked 6th for Ground Transport Infrastructure, 22nd for
Air Transport Infrastructure, 28th for Information & Communications Technology
Infrastructure, 48th for Tourism Infrastructure
• Travel & Tourism Regulatory Framework
Ranked 19th for Safety and Security, 22nd for Health and Hygiene, 50th for
Prioritization of Travel & Tourism, 51st for Policy , Rules and Regulations and 52nd
for Environmental Sustainability
• Travel & Tourism Human, Cultural & Natural Resources
Ranked 22nd for Human Resources, 12th for Cultural Resources and 36th for Natural
Resources
Source: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011

20. Outbound Tourism, 2011 :
Month - wise
2000000
1391193 1786412
1500000 1282348 1420584
1465379
1637158
1267227 1517525 1497704
1114906 1461425
1000000
1152339
500000
0
Jan Feb Mar
Apr May Jun #REF!
Jul Aug
Sep Oct
Nov Dec

21. Top Destination Regions
• Based on 2007 outbound figures the top regions were:
 Northeast Asia: 30%
 Hawaii, Guam and Saipan: 19%
 Europe: 18%
 Southeast Asia: 16%
 North America: 7%
 South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Central/South America: 6%
 Oceania:4%
• Japanese market was steadily shifting to closer destinations with short
haul trips rising from 42% in 1998 to 55% in 2007. Long haul trips fell from
58% to 45%.

22. Source Regions
• About 90% of Japanese outbound travellers come
from the island of Honshu, including:
- over 40% from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
- 15% from the Kansai(Kyoto/Osaka) area
- 12% from the Tokai(Nagoya) area

23. International
Tourism
Expenditure
• Japan ranked 7th
globally in 2010 with a
spend of US $ 27.9 bn
• But in 2011 it ranked
9th with a spend of US
$ 27.2 bn

24. Purpose of Trip
Main purpose 2005 2006
of trip(%)
Leisure/holidays 67.1 67.6
Honeymoon 2.0 2.3
VFR 5.9 6.2
Business 14.6 12.2
Training/inspection/technical 1.7 2.4
Conference 1.6 1.7
Study/school trips 1.0 1.3
Other 4.0 4.3
No Answer 2.0 1.9
Source: ETC survey

25. Duration of Trip
• Average Length : 6.1 nights in 2007
• In 2007, 31.5% of Japanese outbound holiday trips
lasted 2 - 4 days; 41% 5 - 7 days; 23% 8 - 11 days and
4% 12 days or more.
• In 1998 only 21.5% of trips lasted 2 - 4 days and 43%
lasted 8 days or more.
• Growth of short haul trips is seen
• Business trips are longer; leisure tips are shorter

26. Seasonality
Outbound Trips : Month - wise average, 2006 - 2008
Jan 8.1
Feb 8.2
Mar 9.1
Apr 7.4
May 7.8
Jun 8.0
Jul 8.3
Aug 9.6
Sep 8.8
Oct 8.5
Nov 8.3
Dec 7.9

27. Accommodation Preferences
• Holiday/leisure travellers generally prefer 3 star or
even higher category hotels
• Student travellers generally use lower - grade hotels
• Young Japanese ladies in their 20s and 30s prefer
greater luxury four or five star hotels.
• Use of mid-range and budget hotels is on the
increase.
• Guest houses, bed and breakfast and other forms of
accommodation may also be used.

28. Nature of Travellers
• In 2007, 56% of outbound travellers were male and
44% female. Business visitors are mostly males.
• In 2005, 4.6% were first - time travellers, 14% had
travelled 1 - 2 times; 19% had travelled 5 - 8 times
and 47% had travelled 9 or more times.
• In 2005, 66% made one trip in a year; 20% made
two trips; 7% three trips and 7% four trips or more.

29. Departures, Age - wise
Age - wise(2007) Males Females Total
(%) (%) (%)
0 - 9 years 2.7 3.3 3.0
10 - 19 years 3.8 6.1 4.8
20 - 29 years 11.6 23.4 16.8
30 - 39 years 21.7 20.7 21.2
40 - 49 years 22.4 12.7 18.1
50 - 59 years 20.2 15.8 18.3
60+ 17.7 18.0 17.8
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

30. Travel Companions
• In 2007:
- 11% travelled alone; around 59% travelled
with family; 30% with friends
- 47% were accompanied by their husband or wife
- 16% by their children or grand - children
- 8% by their parents and grand - parents
- 5.6% by other family members

31. Preferred Activities
• Visiting natural and scenic attractions
• Shopping
• Historic and cultural attractions
• Rest and relaxation
• Art Galleries and museums
• Beauty treatments and massage
• Theatre, concerts and movies
• Theme parks
• Visiting family and friends

32. Aspirational Destinations
• According to Wave 3 2008, the top ten aspirational
destinations for the Japanese are:
- Italy
- Switzerland
- France
- UK
- Australia
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Germany
- Sweden
- Spain

33. Travel Decisions
Timings Leisure VFR Business All Trips
/holiday (in %, 2005)
1 week before 2 3 21 5
1 - 2 weeks before 7 10 34 11
2 weeks - 1 month 25 29 29 25
before
1 - 2 months before 37 33 10 32
2 - 3 months before 18 14 2 15
3 months or more 10 8 1 10
before
No answer 1 3 4 2
Source: ETC survey

34. Booking Methods
• Women and young travellers use internet more.
Travel agencies/tour operators and telephone are
also used especially by elderly travellers.
• Since the majority of Japanese travellers rely on
travel agents to plan their travel arrangements, the
travel agent influences the choice of destinations.

35. Information Sources
• In 2007, the information sources for holiday trips were:
Internet: 78%
Travel guide books: 60.5%
Travel agency pamphlets: 51%
Travel agencies: 37.5%
National and Regional tourist boards: 18%
Friends & Relatives: 16.5%
Mass Media : 11%
Airline and railway companies: 9%
• Use of internet and tourist boards is increasing while the
use of guide books and pamphlets are now decreasing.

36. Online
Population • Total Online Population (000's) in 2011:
101,229
• Percentage of Population Online in 2011:
80.0%(101,228,736 internet users)
• This represented 10.0% of the Asian
population.
• 95.7 million people will use the internet
in Japan by 2013. This would be up from
92.3 million in 2009.

37. Online Travel Bookings
• Japan's online travel bookings are projected to exceed US$31
billion in 2012, according to PhoCusWright.
• Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) attracted an average of 11.3
million monthly unique visitors in Japan in May - July 2011.
• Travel information sites (the second - most frequented online
travel category in Japan) averaged 7.1 million monthly unique
visitors in May - July 2011.

38. Foreign Visitors To Japan, 2010
• Foreign Visitors to Japan : 8.61 mn in 2010(up 26.8% from 2009)
• Of the total number of foreign visitors to Japan, tourists numbered 6.36
mn (73.9 % of total foreign visitors).
• Number of visitors from Asian countries was the highest: 6.53 mn (up 35.6
% from 2009)
• Among Asian Countries visitors from Republic of Korea was highest :
2.44mn(28.3 % of the total number of foreign visitors to Japan)
• Highest number of tourists was from Republic of Korea with 1.96 mn
followed by Taiwan with 1.14 mn

39. Foreign Visitors, Major Source Countries

40. Japan Among Top Venues For Meetings

41. Asia - Pacific Travellers To Visit Japan More
Region Top 3 most visited destinations Top 3 likely destinations in
in past 2 years (%) next 2 years(%)
Asia - Pacific China - 24 Japan - 30
Hong Kong - 23 United States - 21
Japan - 9 United Kingdom - 20
Source: Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey 2011

42. Major Tourism Events And Festivals
• JATA Travel Showcase: www.jata-jts.jp/about/en/overview_en.html
• Tokyo International Film Festival: http://2012.tiff-jp.net/en/
• Naha Great Tug of War Festival:
www.okinawastory.jp/en/event/event_111008-10.html
• Feudal Lord's Procession in Hakone:
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/hakonegyoretsu.html
• Tori-no-ichi: www.torinoichi.jp/english/index.htm
• Nagasaki Kunchi Festival : http://www.at-nagasaki.jp/foreign/english/kunchi/

43. Major Tourism Events And Festivals
• Chusonji Fujiwara Festivals : http://www.chusonji.or.jp/en/index.html
• Japan Myth Expo : http://www.japanesemythology.jp/
• Chichibu Night Festival: ww.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/chichibuyo.html
• Oga Namahage Festival:
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/oganamahage.html
• New Year's In Japan : http://www.japantravelinfo.com/blog/?p=1799
• Antique Jamboree : http://home.att.ne.jp/sun/jambokun/antique/e.html

44. Major Tourism Events And Festivals
•
• Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival)
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attractions/event/traditionalevents/a70a_fes_setsubun.html
• Hina-Matsuri (Doll Festival)
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attractions/event/traditionalevents/a70b_fes_hina.html
• Hana-Matsuri (Floral Festival)
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attractions/event/traditionalevents/a70c_fes_hana.html
• Tanabata(Star Festival)
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attractions/event/traditionalevents/a69a_fes_tanabata.html
• O-Bon (Lantern Festival)
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attractions/event/traditionalevents/a69b_fes_obon.html
• Shichi-Go-San (Children's Shrine-Visiting Day)
www.jnto.go.jp/eng/attractions/event/traditionalevents/a69c_fes_shichi.html

45. Useful Links
• Japan National Tourism Organisation
www.jnto.go.jp/
• Japan Association of Travel Agents
www.jata-net.or.jp/english/index.htm
• Japan Tourism Agency
www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/en/index.html
• Japan Guide Association
www.jga21c.or.jp/index_e.html

46. References
• Japan National Tourism Organisation
• Statistics Bureau, Japan
• World Tourism Organisation
• World Travel & Tourism Council
• European Travel Commission
• Visa

47. Disclaimer
• The report is based on the information from the
published sources and references mentioned and
inferences drawn are from them. Stark Tourism
Forum and its parent organization, The Stark Group
and the Group Companies - Stark
Communications, Stark Expo, Stark World
Publications are not responsible for errors/omissions
that could have crept in knowingly or unwittingly.