Beginning in Hiroshima on Wednesday, the infrastructure ministry started adding English equivalents to street signs to make it easier for foreign visitors to find their way.

A sign in the center of the city that read "Rijo-dori" in Roman letters now reads "Rijo dori Ave."

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry is also scheduled to change "Heiwa odori Ave.," a main street in Hiroshima, to "Peace Boulevard."

A total of 58 signs in Hiroshima Prefecture will be replaced by the end of March.

The ministry wants signs throughout the country replaced because Japanese names written in the Roman alphabet are hard for most foreign visitors to understand.

In 2012, roughly 360,000 foreigners visited Hiroshima.