### 4. Accidents of the TEPCO Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants; Responding to Economic Damages

The Japan Coast Guard deployed patrol boats to sea around the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the safety and security of maritime transport routes connecting Hokkaido, the affected areas, and the Capital region and the west.

To quell harmful rumors regarding the accidents of the nuclear power plants, MLIT has been working on providing information about safety and the radiation levels at ports and airports and sharing news to foreign countries.

In concrete terms, MLIT provides accurate information on its website about radiation levels at ports (including Keihan Port) in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese, and it takes measures to issue certifications on radiation level of containers and ships, based on request from maritime companies. The Japanese Shipowners' Association and others notify related corporations and crews about such approaches. Such information is announced to foreign governments, port authorities, maritime corporations. Through the foreign embassies and the press in Tokyo, as well as through Japanese diplomatic missions abroad. MLIT also publicizes the radiation levels measured at main airports on its website (in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese), and tries to communicate information through various public relations networks.

For the tourism industry, MLIT has called for related entities to collect accurate information and to provide travelers with accurate and adequate information since immediately after the earthquake. It has also been working on building an atmosphere in which Japanese people can take trips. On April 21,

80: Logo Mark for Domestic Tourism Promotion Campaign through public-private partnership

it started the "domestic tourism promotion campaign" in cooperation with public and private sector in order to promote disaster-relief support activities through travels and trips. It has been trying to arouse national tourism with the "Hold on! Japan!" campaign and the catch phrase, "Make Japan's summer cheerful with smiles on travels."

MLIT has posted travel information to support eastern Japan, as well as tourism information from private corporations and local communities, such as summer holiday travels on the website managed by the Japan Travel and Tourism Association. Other advertising efforts have been: notifying newspapers about such information, applying posters in public locations, and using word-of-mouth communication, etc.

For foreign visitors, disaster-related information such as the conditions of traffic infrastructures, radiation levels have been offered accurately on the website of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in multiple languages since immediately after the quake. Since April, information about daily life in Japan, which is hard to see from overseas, has been shared via video clips in order to try to restore tourism to Japan. In addition, MLIT has invited press and tourist agencies from 15 countries and regions as part of the "Visit Japan" project to show them that most of the affected areas are back to normal and to encourage them to promote Japan as a tourist destination.

As a result of these efforts, countries have reconsidered and recalled their recommendations to their citizens to restrain from visiting Japan. Since the end of April, preliminary tours of media and tourist agencies in Asian countries have taken place, and Japan tours for foreigners have shown signs of recovery.

Because of the disaster, many international meetings have been cancelled or put off nationwide. Administrators of the Japan Tourist Agency sent letters to organizers to reconsider their cancellations of international conferences.

It is also necessary to implement long-term plans to create and maintain environments with which foreign visitors can be satisfied. Thus, MLIT has tried to strengthen hospitable environment through measures such as an hospitality supporter project utilizing foreign students.

### 5. Challenges toward Restoration of the Affected Areas

Among the areas damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake, each area has its respective circumstances caused by the devastating damage in town areas; ground sinking; the risks of secondary disasters due to damages on sea