Japan Tops List of Nations Chinese People Want to Visit

Tokyo, Dec. 12 (Jiji Press)--Japan topped the list of countries Chinese people in their 20s to 40s want to visit, a recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organization showed Tuesday. Japan ranked top for the first time since the survey, which gauges the consumption attitude of Chinese people, started in 2013. The latest survey, the seventh of its kind, was conducted in August on 1,224 medium- and high-income people living in six cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Japan came first out of nine countries covered by the survey, chosen by 40.2 pct of respondents. The United States came second, with 39.9 pct, and Italy third, with 37.4 pct, falling from top and second, respectively, in the previous survey. Multiple answers were allowed in the poll. Of those who chose Japan, over 60 pct said that they want to visit theme parks and amusement parks in the country, higher than the shares of respondents who cited shopping and dining as things they want to do if they visit the neighboring country. The proportion of those who said they want to see cherry blossoms in Japan came to 42.3 pct. The results suggested that Chinese people are increasingly interested in experiment-based consumption. "With Japan-China relations continuing to improve, consumption by foreign visitors to Japan is seen increasing further," a JETRO official said. Among respondents who expressed hopes to visit Japan, 61.1 pct said they obtain information on travel to Japan from their relatives and friends living in China, and the proportion stood at 47.2 pct for those who cited relatives and friends in Japan as the source of such information. The figures were far higher than 8.2 pct for those who cited the Internet. Many respondents said that Japanese people seem to be polite and that shops in the country offer good services. Meanwhile, many said that it is difficult to understand how to use made-in-Japan products. Of all respondents, 67.7 pct said they have bought goods from Japan using cross-border e-commerce services. Many of them said they bought the goods because they liked them during their past trips to Japan. In this regard, increasing visitors to Japan is important for boosting foreigners' online purchases of Japanese products, the JETRO official said. END