Yoroku: Japan hotels built in prewar tourism bid may guide Kishida’s national park policy

In Japan, there are a number of Western-style “classic hotels” that have been operating since before World War II, many of which were developed in the 1930s. Kawana Hotel in the city of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, and Unzen Kanko Hotel in the city of Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture, are just a few of these.

The Japanese government at the time was promoting foreign tourism at resort areas as a national policy in a bid to acquire foreign currency. Many international tourist hotels were built on mountains and along the beaches, among other locations across the country. The detailed circumstances in those days can be found in the book “Kindai nihon no kokusai resort” (International Resorts in Modern Japan) by Fumihiko Sunamoto.

Nearly a century later, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed the implementation of projects utilizing private-sector resources to turn all of Japan’s 35 national parks into “world-class” ones. It is thought that Kishida had the development of high-end resort hotels targeting inbound foreign tourists and other facilities in mind. Is this also a national policy?

The government has set a goal of attracting an annual 60 million inbound tourists in 2030, and is attempting to step up the active use of national parks. However, is it appropriate to tap precious natural environments and areas full of biodiversity to spark tourism? If foreign capital is introduced in those areas, would it be possible for the government to fulfill its long-term responsibilities? While the government has explained the initiative as not limited to developing luxury resort hotels and stated that environmental conservation and understanding by local communities are prerequisites, it is no shock that voices of concern have been raised over the move.

The hotels developed in the prewar era by national policy faced the headwind of international tensions. According to Sunamoto’s book, many of those hotels were converted into facilities for other purposes during the war and were confiscated by the Allied forces during the postwar occupation of Japan.

Tourist spots in this country are already facing the issue of overtourism. Discussions on sustainable tourism must not be left behind in a policy that utilizes national parks.

(“Yoroku” is a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun.)