The Foreign Ministry may change its five-scale travel advisory system due to criticism that the information is vague and causing undue harm to tourism worldwide, a senior official said.
The advisories are used to warn Japanese traveling or living abroad to be aware of the situations surrounding them. But in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, some travel agencies have noted that the reasons behind the advisories are unclear, and that some foreign governments are concerned the number of Japanese visiting their countries is reportedly declining for no reason.
The ministry issues advisories simply as a reference, but the impact they seem to be having on businesses at home and abroad is apparently significant, said the official, who declined to be named.