## (iv) Promotion of international flight services at regional airports

Although the number of foreigners visiting Japan is steadily increasing, about 70% concentrates on the sightseeing route called the Golden Course that connects the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region. Going forward, the key challenge in receiving more travelers is to attract foreign travelers directly to various regions in Japan to create inbound and outbound flows of travelers in rural areas, in addition to enhancing metropolitan airports functionalities.

For airports managed by the national government, landing fees of international flights have already been reduced by 30% for regular flights and by half for charter flights. In addition, reductions of landing fees for international flights will be newly introduced at regional airports in FY 2016 with the aim of increasing inbound foreign tourists. Landing fees will be reduced by half at airports managed by the national government, excluding Tokyo International Airport, New Chitose Airport, and Fukuoka Airport for new or additional international passenger flights in coordination with regional efforts to attract flight routes. This will encourage international flight services at airports in regions that are positive about improving the environment to welcome foreign travelers, such as by facilitating the formation of wide-area tourism routes.

## (3) Constructing air traffic system

## (i) Building a new air traffic systems

In FY2010, air traffic experts from the industrial, academic and governmental sectors formulated a long-term vision for future air traffic systems as CARATS (Collaborative Actions for Renovation of Air Traffic Systems) with a view to realizing a globally interoperable air traffic system and addressing increases in long-term demand for air traffic capacity and diversified needs. Studies are underway to make this vision a reality in conjunction with ICAO’s Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP).

In FY 2015, we began examining ways to realize flights where airplanes fly upwards continuously without temporary leveling off from takeoff to cruising in order to reduce fuel expenses and $ CO_{2} $ emissions through more efficient flights. Also, with the aim of realizing the use of precision landing, which is currently limited to straight lines, we are examining the introduction of the Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) to allow for curred lines to improve safety and convenience. Furthermore, discussions on new networks for globally sharing aviation information are also ongoing.

## (ii) Pursuing enhancing metropolitan airport capacities

As continual effort directed at expanding the capacities of the metropolitan airports and airspaces, a yearly arrival/departure capacity of 447 thousand times was achieved at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in March 2014. At Narita International Airport as well, simultaneous parallel departure procedure has been introduced since October 2011 to enhance annual capacity without expanding noise-impacted zone and achieved a yearly capacity of 300,000 arrivals/departures in March, 2015 with the two runways currently in service by the familiarization with this method of aircraft operation and deployment of equipment which can monitor aircraft with high precision.

Specific studies will proceed to pursue further functional enhancements to the metropolitan airports.

## (4) Strategic promotion of international aviation measures

The Asia and Pacific region is considered to grow into the world’s largest aviation market before too long. In the circumstances, what is of strategic importance to Japan is not only to contribute to strengthening of the aviation networks in this region but also to actively capture the impetus of the emerging countries in which numerous aviation projects are in progress.

Because unified public and private approaches are essential to winning orders, efforts have been made to collect information and consolidate bilateral ties at the primary initiative of the Council for International Deployment of Aviation Infrastructure.

Activities in FY 2015 included inviting key governmental officials of Mongolia (June 2015) and holding an aviation seminar in Vietnam (December 2015).