A project to lure Asian tourists, especially Chinese, to central Japan has resumed after delays caused by the territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.
The "Dragon Route" project is being promoted by prefectures, municipalities and economic groups in the nine prefectures that make up the Chubu region — Nagano, Aichi, Shizuoka, Mie, Gifu, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui and Shiga.
The Dragon Route Promotion Council says the project is so named because the tourist route "courses mysteriously through Japan like the swelling of a dragon's body." They also said the name is particularly appealing to Chinese.