Japan's ailing regional economies can be revitalized by tapping the sightseeing potential of growing Asian countries, according to Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Yoshiaki Hompo.
China will be a vital market, and Hompo's agency is now in talks with other government bodies to gradually ease rules for issuing visas to Chinese tourists, he said during a recent interview in Tokyo.
Hompo also said the Japanese are not exclusionist and boasted the country has a unique natural and cultural diversity.
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