November 28, 2025
In 2003, the Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, launched a campaign to increase international tourism in Japan. The project’s intended goals were to increase the number of tourists to 10 million by 2010 and increase regional revitalization and business expansion [1]. Two decades later, Japan reported a 47.1% increase in tourists in 2023, reaching a record high of 38.87 million visitors [2]. The Japanese government has declared its intent to increase that number to 60 million annually by 2030 [2]. However, with this influx of tourists comes concerns surrounding Japan’s capacity to host an additional 20 million people, the impact of tourism on urban and rural communities, and the direction Japanese governmental policy could take in the coming years.
Beginning in 2028, Japan will require electronic authorization visas for countries currently exempt. This new policy, which is expected to be implemented in full force by 2030, will apply to seventy-two countries [3]. Currently, a similar policy exists for tourists coming to visit the United States known as ESTA; both programs allow for temporary stays which are defined by short-term travel confined to ninety consecutive days. This latest policy decision is expected to slow down the rate of tourism, but is not directly intended as a deterrent. The visa fee is under $20 USD per person and is the latest part of the government’s developing strategy to get a handle on the influx of tourists flocking to Japan. While online visa applications alone cannot significantly decrease the rate of tourists going to Japan, it underscores how the Japanese government is taking steps towards managing and processing the wealth of applications for travel. However, Japan may need to take more serious action in the coming years to accommodate for this amount of growth.
As the number of people coming to visit Japan grows rapidly, so do the issues most commonly associated with tourism and overcrowding. The effects are felt most heavily by the local communities that already feel the strain of overcrowding: daily disruptions and noise congestion are heavily present throughout Japanese towns and cities. Nearly three-quarters of overnight tourist stays in Japan are concentrated in just five cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Fukuoka [2]. But it’s not just tourists that are flocking to these central places. A recent survey found that around 60% of all respondents found both their residential and workspaces to be “crowded” or “somewhat crowded.” In addition, around 60% indicated that the congestion was negatively impacting “their daily lives in both places” [2]. In 2023 the Japanese government began offering families in Tokyo $10,000 per child if they relocated to the Japanese countryside in a move intended to reduce the amount of overcrowding in Tokyo [4].And these effects are not just felt among residents. The increasing number of tourists adds significant pressure onto public transportation and local businesses during peak hours, making it nearly impossible to keep up with demand. While travel and tourism contribute a significant amount of revenue to Japan, the effects of the rapid increase are not without consequence [5]. With regards to the problem of overcrowding in public transportation, Japan’s government has put forth measures to reduce the effects such as implementing tourist-specific transport, alternate routing, and dual-pricing systems that charge tourists a higher bus fare than residents. However, a large amount of disruption and congestion remains to be addressed.
Japan is also facing challenges with tourist disturbances. In Kyoto, a city well known for its cultural significance and preservation, authorities had to enforce a photography ban in the Gion district to prevent tourists from harassing geishas and the surrounding historic neighborhood [6]. In the Yamanashi prefecture, the allure of a convenience store’s alignment with Mount Fuji resulted in so many disturbances that local authorities had to raise a black screen to obstruct the view in hopes of discouraging tourists [6]. In Otaru, a city situated in Hokkaido prefecture, security guards were put in place to manage tourists on Funami-za Street, a popular photo-op location, after the death of a Chinese tourist who was struck by a train while taking photos [6]. Incidents like these are unfortunately to be expected with such a high volume of people. However they underscore an interesting phenomena surrounding how foreigners view Japan. Alex Bradshaw, founder and chief consultant of travel and tourism consultancy Gotoku, told Al Jazeera, that while tourism helped bring life back into Japan’s underpopulated areas, there are also intense complications with how Western media presents images of Japan [7]. Bradshaw remarked, “I see how Japan is presented and I’m kind of confused by it. I just wonder what part of Japan that is, because they do rely on the kitsch, the odd side of it, or culture tropes… It would be my hope that people would find a deeper side of Japan. But I understand why that is difficult for the tourism industry as well. When you’ve got to prioritise what sells as opposed to what’s authentic and necessarily good for regional communities” [7]. Additionally Kumi Kato, a tourism professor at Wakayama and Musashino universities told Al Jazeera that while the government was making steps towards the right direction there is still much work left to be done. She specifically pointed out that “Value should be added to high-quality products and authentic experiences [which will] raise visitor spending rather than increase numbers. The government does set a target stay – number of days – and spending per visitor, but strategically ‘what kind of tourists’ should be clearer” [7].
Tourism is also rapidly changing the landscape of Japan. Increases in tourists has led to an increase in property value, making resort properties and short-term rental properties intensely attractive in the real estate market. The increase has also led to appreciation in property values, with areas containing “improved infrastructure, enhanced amenities, and greater accessibility to regional airports” receiving the most investment [8]. Tourism spending in Japan has surpassed the industry for semiconductors and steel. This is making real estate investment appear to be a highly profitable asset class with investors benefiting off of ”rising rental income and long-term capital appreciation” [8]. However, the benefits of commodifying prime real estate properties in Japan is not without an environmental cost. In September of 2024, Japan Airlines debuted a campaign to offer free domestic flights to international tourists arriving on overseas flights [2]. Last October Japan Airlines began two new promotional programs to reduce the influx of tourists by highlighting lesser known locations, airing Instagram campaigns, and package deals in cooperation with a resort agency with over fifty-five locations in Japan [2]. The effects of decisions like these are tangible in the surrounding environment. Overtourism has begun to negatively affect “rural World Heritage sites, subtropical islands, popular hiking trails, and national parks” [7]. Iriomote, one of the Ryukyu Islands acclaimed for its beauty, has been forced to limit the number of daily visitors to 1,200 due to water shortages and concerns about protecting the habitat of wildcats native to the island [6]. In comparison, Dry Tortugas National Park located in Key West, Florida is around the same size as Iriomote-jima and receives only about 250 visitors daily [9]. In a similar decision last year, Mount Fuji limited the daily number of visitors to 4,000 [10, marcus]. Additionally at the Nara Deer Preservation located in Nara City, just outside of Osaka, the Sika deer population is increasing in tandem with traffic accidents and incidents caused by overtourism. The increase in population can be explained by tourists feeding the generally tame deer digestive sugar-free crackers known as shika senbei, with the increase in readily available food leading to increases in the deer pregnancy rate. The increase in pregnancy rate itself is not itself a cause for concern, but as the population of deer and dependency on shika senbei grows, so does aggressive behavior in the deers. Last year the preservation recorded 159 cases of visitor injuries from interactions with the deer with 111 involving international tourists [11]. Most of the injuries have been linked to excessive touching during photos or teasing the deer by withholding deer crackers. Additionally, the fatality report for the Sika deer last year found that a little over a quarter of the deaths were caused by traffic collisions, the majority of which occurred on roads passing through and around the park [11]. In sum, all of these interactions with Japan’s national parks and surrounding environments is creating a devastating impact for the surrounding community’s quality of life.
Overcrowding and overtourism are also beginning to have sizable impacts in the political landscape of Japan. In July of this year, the number of seats held by Japan’s far-right party, Sanseito, grew from one to fifteen out of 248 total House of Councillors seats [12]. Part of this unprecedented increase can be explained by increasing anti-foreigner sentiment, both towards foreigners coming to reside in Japan and tourists staying for short periods of time. Many people feel that the foreigners who come to visit do so with largely “uncouth, disrespectful” behavior which clashes strongly with cultural norms of courtesy and respect that Japan prides itself upon [12]. In terms of foreigners who come to reside, many are upset at the resources such as social security and education support being spent. Some political analysts have criticized Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya’s actions in spreading false information about tourists and conflating perceptions of misbehavior and bad manners. Kamiya himself is a controversial character in Japanese politics, most recently for purporting gender equality policies as a “mistake” as they encouraged women to join the workforce and not have children [12]. The strain of influxes of tourists combined with growing fear of population decline combined with decreasing birth rights are culminating in a rise in populist right-wing sentiments among citizens in their 30s to 40s who wish to see change. One possible explanation for the growing gap in rhetoric between the Japanese government and Japanese citizens concerned with foreigners could stem from the economic incentive that tourists bring. By 2034, the travel and tourism sector is expected to increase Japan’s GDP by 15.7 billion USD [8]. As more travelers are expected to continue visiting Japan, the government is faced with the choice of rapidly reducing the volume of tourists while prioritizing visitors with deep pockets or choosing to take measures to expand infrastructure, create stricter travel regulations for tourists, and enforce measures to protect the integrity of culturally and environmentally significant sites.
With consideration to the most recent policy decision to enforce electronic visa authorizations, and the recent statement of Japan’s intent to increase the amount of foreign visitors to 60 million by 2030, the government’s decision has been made clear. The next steps Japan takes to accommodate for the incoming amount of people will have significant impacts politically, economically, and culturally, yet the question that remains is if it will be enough to be considered successful across all fronts. Overtourism is not a simple issue that can easily be resolved with expansion and increased investment. Rather, it must be addressed strategically with planning that accounts for a time when the masses slow down.
Works Cited
[1] “Japan Tourism Agency.” n.d. Japan Schedule Coordination. https://www.schedule-coordination.jp/tourism/.
[2] Tochibayashi, Naoko, and Mizuho Ota. 2025. “How Japan is redesigning tourism to benefit local communities.” World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/05/how-japan-is-redesigning-tourism-to-benefit-local-communities/.
[3] “JESTA: the new mandatory authorization to travel to Japan from 2028.” 2025. Japan Experience. https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/before-you-travel/jesta-authorization-travel-visa-japan.
[4] Mannie, Kathryn. 2023. “Tokyo is so overcrowded, Japan is paying families $10K per child to move – National | Globalnews.ca.” Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9389383/japan-paying-tokyo-families-move-overcrowding/.
[5] “Japan’s Travel & Tourism Sector to Surpass Previous Records in 2024.” 2024. World Travel and Tourism Council. https://wttc.org/news/japans-travel-and-tourism-sector-to-surpass-previous-records-in-2024.
[6] “The Rising Tide of Tourists: Tackling Overtourism in Japan.” 2025. Bokksu. https://bokksu.com/blogs/news/the-rising-tide-of-tourists-tackling-overtourism-in-japan?srsltid=AfmBOop47has2QCE1ra7d5TtxY-R6fxtT9B8e30wbSh8QVDW5nYwgmBd.
[7] McElhinney, David. 2023. “Japan is swamped with tourists. Now visitors are going off the beaten track.” Al Jazeera. https://aje.io/wccl5g.
[8] “The Impact of Record Tourism Numbers on Japan’s Resort Real Estate Market.” 2025. Uchi. https://uchijapan.com/news/the-impact-of-record-tourism-numbers-on-japans-resort-real-estate-market.
[9] “Dry Tortugas National Park Islands Visitor Guide.” n.d. Yankee Freedom. Accessed October 20, 2025. https://www.drytortugas.com/dry-tortugas-national-park-islands/.
[10] Marcus, Lilit. 2024. “Japan’s Mount Fuji implements tourist tax in response to overcrowding concerns.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/travel/mount-fuji-japan-visitor-cap-tourist-tax-intl-hnk.
[11] Muzaffar, Maroosha. 2025. “Number of injuries among tourists up as Nara deer population hits record levels.” The Independent. https://www.the-independent.com/asia/japan/nara-park-deer-japan-record-numbers-tourist-injuries-b2833478.html.
[12] “How Japan’s far right was supercharged by Trump and tourists.” 2025. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2k29233jeo.
Policy & Political Review 
