Japan and the United States will sign a tourism promotion pact Friday in an effort to promote travel and revitalize their sagging tourism industries, which are still reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The pact will set a numerical target of 4 percent annual growth in travel between the two countries and create a public-private tourism expansion council, U.S. government sources said Tuesday.
The deal is to be signed Friday by transport minister Chikage Ogi and Secretary of Commerce Don Evans at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. The signing will be witnessed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. Ambassador Howard Baker, the sources said.