facilities.

Moreover, in response to the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant Accident, we plan to secure the stability in residency for the refugees residing in evacuation zones by providing them the same accommodation as disaster victims such as moving into public housing for disaster victims.

## Section 4 Securing Local Public Transportation and Promoting Tourism

## (1) Securing Local Public Transportation

In matters concerning the local public transportation which suffered damages from the Great East Japan Earthquake, in order to support the securement and maintenance of bus traffic and share taxis in disaster affected areas, utilizing the scheme to secure, maintain and improve local public transportation systems, we are taking exceptional measures such as mitigating the assisting needs of similar projects. Specifically, these measures include the support for securing and maintaining the interregional mainline bus transportation networks as well as community bus transportation for daily commutation between evacuation shelters, temporary housing, remaining settlements or newly built housing, hospitals, shops and public agencies. The maximum limit for financial aid to community bus transportation is scheduled to be raised for certain conditions in 2012.

## (2) Reviving Tourism

In order to revive travel demand in Japan as soon as possible, we implemented a promotional initiative for tourism in Japan consisting of disseminating information deliberately for overseas consumers. To revive tourism in the Tohoku and Northern Kanto regions in particular, sales negotiation meetings and promotional events for reviving tourism were held at 7 overseas markets for stimulating the creation of tourist products for Japan in overseas companies, and to actively raise appeal of tourist spots. Foreign media and tourism companies were also invited to the market events. In addition, we held a photo contest linked with SNS $ ^{Note1} $ called the “Share your WOW! – Japan Photo Contest” to convey the “safety, security and appeal” of Japan through opinions posted on the internet from tourists who have visited Japan and also by utilizing the “Safety and Security Brochure,” which is comprised of information concerning radiation for tourists visiting Japan, and the “Tohoku & North Kanto Tourism Guidebook,” which links with guidebooks from major overseas markets. Moreover, as a result of promoting various initiative for reviving the popularity of tourism in Japan, such as the promotion through advantaging large-scale international conferences such as the WTTC $ ^{Note2} $ and IMF World Economic Outlook, the number of visitors to Japan reached approximately 8.37 million people (35% increase in comparison to previous year and 3% less than year before last) in 2012.

In domestic tourism, though the number of lodgers is generally in steady recovery, lodging facilities focused on tourism still face difficult circumstances. According to the study on the number of vacation accommodation statistics conducted by the Japan Tourism Agency, the total number of visitors who stayed at lodging facilities (from July to September of 2012) in comparison to the year before last has decreased by 0.2% nationally, by 6.8% in the 6 Tohoku prefectures, and by 0.4% in the Kanto region. $ ^{Note4} $ The total number of visitors who stayed at lodging facilities focused on tourism $ ^{Note5} $ (from July to September of 2012) in comparison to the year before last has decreased by 3.8% nationally, 21.9% in the Tohoku prefectures, and by 8.0% in the Kanto region, indicating that difficult conditions continue depending on region.

Although various initiatives are being implemented to revive the domestic travel demand, starting in March 2012, we have also begun to devise plans to rouse the popularity of the Tohoku region in particular. In addition to the sightseeing of existing tourist spots, public and private sectors are working in cooperation to conduct the “Tohoku Tourist Expo” around 30 core zones, portraying the entire Tohoku region as an exhibition hall. Under the theme of “Connecting Hearts, and Creating Encounters,” this project aims to change the style of tourism to “Long Stay, Cultural Experience,” where the theater of sightseeing is based on the daily life of the region such in local markets, farming and mountain communities,