Presenter: David Atkinson, President and CEO, Konishi Art and Craft Co., Ltd.

In his 2015 book "The New Tourism Nation Theory," he argued that Japan, facing a rapid population decline, could become prosperous through the tourism industry, using numerical analysis befitting a former analyst.

Ten years later, just as he predicted, inbound tourism has increased, and annual revenues are approaching 10 trillion yen, making it the second-largest industry after automobiles. Atkinson says this is not a prediction, but the result of his continuous lobbying of the government to make it happen.

Unfortunately, Aichi and Nagoya are often referred to as "losers in inbound tourism" and have yet to fully reap the benefits of a tourism economy. The requested theme for this lecture is to bounce back and "revitalize Aichi and Nagoya!"

Aichi and Nagoya have thrived thanks to the automobile industry, so the main reason for this is that local governments have not made a serious effort to promote the tourism industry. In fact, government tourism-related policies have not been fully utilized in Aichi and Nagoya. To revitalize tourism as an industry, it is necessary to create facilities and features that attract tourists, rather than simply promoting the value of history and culture.

The Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle is decorated with a painting of a tiger. The English description reads "Tiger." Even foreigners can tell it's a tiger just by looking at it. I'm curious about the reason and story behind the tiger design, but the explanation isn't written in English. This doesn't pique foreigners' interest.

From now on, I hope you'll re-examine your English descriptions from a foreigner's perspective and work to write descriptions that will interest them. When I once saw the great hall at Nijo Castle in Kyoto, the English description for the room read "Big room." It was clear that it was a great hall. However, this great hall was where Tokugawa Ieyasu held the ceremony to receive the title of Shogun. It was also where Tokugawa Yoshinobu returned power to the Emperor. In other words, it is a very significant room, symbolizing the beginning and end of the Edo period. By carefully including these explanations in English, Nijo Castle has become a popular destination for inbound tourists.

If Aichi and Nagoya also continue to develop facilities that go back to basics like this, I believe it will produce significant benefits for the tourism economy, as these are attractive major cities.

Reporter: Makiko Akasaki, Secretary General of the Chubu Inbound Sales Project (CISP)

Nagoya and Aichi are the only ones losing out when it comes to inbound tourism to Japan. The skipping of Nagoya by international flag carriers has led to a significant disparity in the region's tourism economy. One person working to turn this around is Makiko Akasaki of the Chubu Inbound Sales Project (CISP).
While working primarily as a content creator and author of travel-related books, Ms. Akasaki has also achieved outstanding results as a salesperson, winning numerous contracts and bidding for national tourism projects. She also serves as a manager, serving on local government committees and external organizations.
Behind her business growth so far, she says, she has always encountered talented people who have always supported her. During the Q&A session, she shared her experiences of meeting these people and discussed how to apply them to our business.
Fermentation tourism is currently the most popular inbound tourism content among tourism-related businesses in Aichi Prefecture and the region. It was reaffirmed that CISP and the Aichi Inbound Association will work together as mutual members to move this forward.

Reporter: Hironori Aoki, Managing Director, Yamamotoya Co., Ltd.

Yamamotoya has a century-old history, first serving misonikomi udon. Hironori Aoki, Managing Director, Yamamotoya Co., Ltd., reported on Okute Yamamotoya's overseas strategy.

Over the past century, the company's history has been fueled by the growing Japanese population, allowing it to open new stores and serve misonikomi udon to countless Japanese customers. However, the next 100 years will see a decline in the Japanese population, and if things continue as they are, it's clear that there will be an oversupply. To sustain its stores, the company must either attract inbound tourists or expand its overseas presence, or both.

Aichi's inbound tourists are not only tourists but also workers, many of whom are Muslim. There is also a certain number of Westerners who practice vegetarianism. Okute Yamamotoya has taken advantage of this opportunity to create misonikomi udon that is both halal and suitable for vegetarians. Fortunately, misonikomi udon is naturally halal and vegetarian-friendly, so we were able to do this without increasing costs, and as a result, our restaurant has become popular with many Muslims and vegetarians.
Leveraging the experience gained at Okute Yamamotoya, we opened a halal and vegetarian-friendly misonikomi udon restaurant in Hong Kong as a franchise. This restaurant was ranked number one on a Chinese restaurant comparison site and is now visited by many Hong Kongers.
However, franchise restaurants have lower profit margins than directly managed restaurants, so we are also considering further measures to improve investment efficiency.
We believe that integrating inbound tourism and overseas expansion is a necessary strategy to create a Yamamotoya that can survive for the next 100 years.

Visited: Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa

The Aichi Inbound Association (Aichi Inbound Tourism Association) visited Mayor Hirosawa at Nagoya City Hall and presented a letter of request for increased sister city exchanges with Los Angeles.
Los Angeles currently has sister city partnerships with 22 cities around the world, with Nagoya being the first city designated as such. 2024 marks the 65th anniversary of the sister city agreement. Los Angeles is currently attracting attention from across the United States and around the world due to the outstanding performance of Japanese players in Major League Baseball. Furthermore, with the Olympic Games approaching in three years, the city is a vibrant and attractive destination.
While the number of people visiting Los Angeles from Nagoya is expected to increase, it remains unclear whether inbound tourism from Los Angeles to Nagoya will increase in response. To promote mutual exchanges, it is important to further promote our sister city relationship and deepen mutual understanding.
Currently, Chubu Centrair International Airport does not operate direct flights to Los Angeles. This is a significant setback for attracting inbound tourists, and we must work with airlines to quickly reinstate direct flights. To that end, it would be effective for the two cities to invigorate mutual exchange and increase the flow of people.
With these circumstances in mind, we have handed over a request to Nagoya City.

Reporter: Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa

Nagoya City welcomed new Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, and we spoke with him about how the city's tourism administration will change in the future, particularly from the perspective of inbound tourism.

Nagoya is the third most populous metropolis after Tokyo and Osaka. However, when asked what the third-largest city in the United States is after New York and Los Angeles, few people can answer. The answer is Chicago. Similarly, it's difficult to remember the third-largest city in France or Germany. Given this situation, Nagoya is leveraging its strengths to focus on attracting inbound tourists.

Nagoya's strength lies in its central location, offering quick access to anywhere. This allows it to function as a tourism hub for Japan, attracting tourists who stay in Nagoya and travel to other parts of the country. We are thinking of this as a two-pronged approach: the Golden Route within Japan and connecting Centrair with Asia.

To accommodate wealthy visitors from Europe, the United States, and Australia, construction of luxury hotels is underway in Nagoya, and Nagoya's lack of luxury hotels will soon be greatly improved.

Furthermore, to make Nagoya Castle more accessible to local residents and to invigorate events held within the castle, I would like to make admission to the castle free, with only the castle tower being a paid attraction. Furthermore, as the area will be the setting for a taiga drama in 2026, I am also planning a tourism campaign featuring warlords and the construction of a taiga drama museum.

In order to further grow and develop Nagoya as an international tourist city, I would like the public and private sectors to work together to attract inbound tourists.

Reporter: Masanari Yoshioka, Founding Chairman of Yoshix Holdings Co., Ltd.

Masanari Yoshioka, the entrepreneur behind Yoshix Holdings Co., Ltd., who expanded restaurants such as Yadai Sushi nationwide and achieved a listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, shared his life story and future vision.
Born in Osaka to a small manufacturing family, Yoshioka witnessed the turbulent ups and downs of the manufacturing industry and pursued a career in construction. He achieved significant sales growth through interior construction work at Honke Kamadoya. However, this industry also experienced a sudden drop in sales as stores became saturated, reaffirming the dangers of temporary booms. Fortunately, at the time, he was able to avoid the worst-case scenario thanks to his existing operations, including interior construction work and the expansion of Honke Kamadoya franchise stores.
After experimenting with alternative restaurant formats to takeout bento, he developed the sushi izakaya "Yadai Sushi" as a new restaurant format, which led to the company's growth as a publicly listed company. It took numerous trials and errors before he found this thriving business. However, once the company starts to grow significantly, it is not that difficult to take it public.
The key to building a big company seems to be to try out a variety of things, go through trial and error, and then once things start to go well, go for it all at once.

Reporter: Elisabeth Yopis

Elisabeth Yopis has been featured in the media many times and is now a celebrity. This is her first appearance at our regular meeting in a long time. We spoke to her about what inbound tourists are looking for from a Spanish perspective.
Nagoya has a rich historical and cultural heritage, and its samurai history, in particular, gives it an unrivaled advantage over other regions. By properly communicating this, inbound tourists, especially those from Europe, the United States, and Australia, are highly interested and join our tours.
Nagoya cuisine, exemplified by hitsumabushi, is also extremely popular among inbound tourists, with everyone agreeing that it's delicious.
While tourist destinations like Tokyo and Kyoto are experiencing overtourism, Nagoya, with its relatively low tourist numbers, is a popular destination for many inbound tourists. Inbound tourism in Nagoya is set to boom.

Lecturer: Nagoya City Council Member Takayuki Nakazato

We heard about currently planned tourism initiatives, including some unannounced plans, on how Nagoya, often referred to as a loser in the inbound tourism market, can develop as a tourist destination.

The area in front of Nagoya Station is undergoing major changes in preparation for the opening of the Linear Shinkansen. Upon leaving the station, a park-like plaza spreads out before you, and a wide road stretches beyond, offering views all the way to the Sakae district.

From Meitetsu Department Store to Sasajima, a large-scale building will be constructed in harmony with the surrounding area.

In front of Kanayama Station, Asunal Kanayama will be demolished for a large-scale redevelopment project, including a civic center. Atsuta Shrine will also be redeveloped using the old shopping arcade and the vacant land behind it. In the Sakae district, plans call for the introduction of an articulated tourist bus service from Nagoya Station, eventually running between Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Shrine.

Nagoya, undergoing a major transformation, appears to be preparing measures to capture inbound demand and shed its former self as a tourist destination.

Reporter: Masashi Anraku, CEO, Higeraku Zuesha
Keisuke Awazu, CEO, Belair Co., Ltd.
Reona Ohira, CEO, Act U Travel Co., Ltd.

Exhibiting at exhibitions can have a significant impact on business development. We selected three noteworthy exhibitions from this year and provided an overview.

- Japan Expo Paris, to be held in Paris from July 4-6, 2025

- Japanese Food Expo, to be held in Los Angeles from November 14-15, 2025, and in New York from November 21-23, 2025

- Tourism EXPO JAPAN, to be held at Aichi Sky Expo from September 25-28, 2025

Tourism EXPO JAPAN is an international exhibition that allows you to directly approach foreign buyers, and this will be the first time it is held in Aichi.

All of these exhibitions offer opportunities to promote Japanese products and culture overseas, from merchandise to services, in addition to tourism business.

Reporter: Dan Lewis (Inbound Tourism Advisor)

The number of inbound tourists visiting Japan from overseas is currently booming. The main reason seems to be the widespread international recognition of Japan's appeal.
The appeal of Japan is perceived very differently by Japanese people living in the area and foreigners from overseas. In order to attract inbound tourists and do business with them, it's important to understand Japan from a foreign perspective.
This time, we invited Dan Lewis, an American who fell in love with Japan after visiting it and has lived in Nagoya for 30 years, to speak. He carefully explained how Nagoya's appeal appears to Americans. He began with a shocking comment about Nagoya Castle, considered Nagoya's top tourist attraction: "I was disappointed because the castle was just a building." However, he said, "I was impressed by the stone walls surrounding the castle." This is because the names of the people who built it are carved into each stone. It seems that their perspective differs from that of Japanese people.
This regular meeting reminded me that in order to help inbound tourists understand the good things about Japan and become fans, it is important to understand how they see things. I plan to have another discussion with Dan Lewis.