I was disappointed to read in The Japan Times that Prime Minister Abe wants to increase the number of foreign visitors to Japan to 40 million. Firstly, Kyoto, where I live, is already swamped with tourists, and many places in this city have lost their charm as a result. There are a lot of places in the world which have been spoiled by excessive numbers of tourists, such as Venice, Florence, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Cambridge, parts of Hawaii, Bali, Angkor Wat, parts of Thailand, etc., and it is sad that the government wants Kyoto, Nara, etc. to join this list.
Secondly, surely Abe must be aware that global warming is a major problem in the world (including Japan!), and one of the causes is the huge number of people who are flying around the world these days. At this time when global warming is getting worse every year, it is irresponsible, stupid and shortsighted to encourage millions of people to fly long distances to Japan.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.