In an effort to compete better with South Korea in drawing tourists from Southeast Asia, Japan has been stepping up exports of pop culture content to the region and easing visa requirements for people there.
A weakening of the yen is also boosting Japan's competitiveness in luring tourists from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, among other parts of the world.
Although Japan and South Korea have been promoting similar attractions such as local cuisine, cherry blossoms, skiing and shopping at city malls, Seoul has been leading Tokyo in drawing booming numbers of middle-class visitors from ASEAN for the last several years.