Japan is promoting itself at this year's World Travel Market in London as the ideal destination for a family holiday.

After last year's promotion, which focused on young adults, Japan is now using the growing popularity of Japanese pop culture in Britain and Europe to attract children and their parents.

"Japan is becoming a key destination for family holidays, with many children now begging to be taken to the home of PlayStation, Nintendo and the Japanese animation characters now so prolific on British TV: Pokemon, Dragonball Z, the Transformers and the Oscar-winning film 'Spirited Away,' " said Tetsuya Okuda, executive director of the Japan National Tourist Organization office in London.

This year's stand at the London travel show — one of the biggest annual tourist trade fairs — is stocked with handy information from a variety of bodies for tour operators wanting to start family and school trips to Japan.