Tourism promotion event to be held in Fukushima Pref. on June 26+

TOKYO, June 17 Kyodo -
Japanese tourism officials said Friday a one-day event will be held in the northeastern city of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, on June 26 to promote recovery of the country's tourism industry battered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis.
The Japan Tourism Agency picked the city at a time when the country is struggling to bounce back from sharp declines in the number of tourists at both the national and local levels more than three months after the natural disasters.
Similar events are being planned later in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which like Fukushima were hit hardest by the disasters, as the government is eager to alleviate the impact of anxieties over the crisis at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant.
''We would like to help get Fukushima up and running again with the upcoming event and send the world a message about the safety of trips (to Japan),'' said Hiroshi Mizohata, commissioner of the tourism agency.
The agency will actively promote attendance of foreign media for such events.
==Kyodo
2011-06-18 00:12:48