Japan to Offer Free Airfare to 10,000 Foreigners
By wchung | 05 Apr, 2026

The deer park is a top attractions in Nara, the city in western Japan generally regarded as the birthplace of Japanese culture.

Japan is ratcheting up efforts to reclaim tourism lost to the March 11 disaster by offering free airfares to 10,000 foreigners next year, announced Japan Tourism Agency Monday. The freebies will be given to those who submit online applications detailing which areas of Japan they would like to visit.

The entrants chosen by the Agency for free tickets will be asked to write an account of their trip for online publication. Reports of good travel experiences may ease anxiety about visiting the country, according to tourism officials. The program will begin in April 2012, assuming it receives government budget approval.

Foreign visitors to Japan fell more than 50 percent year-on-year during the three months following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant. Tourism rebounded somewhat in June and July but remained 36 percent below last year’s levels. In August the drop decreased to 32 percent.

Japan has been struggling to ease concerns about the extent of nuclear contamination outside a 20-km (12.6-mile) radius around the Fukushima plant and a few other isolated “hotspots” a short distance beyond the perimeter of the no-go zone. Crews have made some progress toward a cold shutdown of the Fukushima plant but continue to face flareups of radioactivity that hamper their work.