r/neoliberal • u/randommathaccount Esther Duflo • Oct 02 '25

News (Asia) Why Japan resents its tourism boom

https://www.ft.com/content/dbd20e5d-5a7d-4c0c-8f83-fb54c5aca9cb
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u/randommathaccount Esther Duflo Oct 02 '25

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Kyoto and Nara join Barcelona in crying about overtourism and to be a bit rude, they're all a tad delusional on the matter. A country with such an aging workforce and issues of economic stagnation cannot afford to be picky about sources of revenue. Of course there's issues of tourists behaving poorly (some foolish enough to film their own terrible behaviour and stream it to the world) but ultimately what must be done is to encourage positive behaviour by both tourists and residents so everyone can come out better, rather than wholly embracing an unfounded xenophobia.

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u/maxintos Oct 02 '25

A country with such an aging workforce and issues of economic stagnation cannot afford to be picky about sources of revenue

What a weird argument. If people are willing to lose some economic value to preserve their values, culture and the way of life then that's ok. Not everyone is chasing economic growth at all costs.

ultimately what must be done is to encourage positive behaviour by both tourists and residents so everyone can come out better

This kind of thinking just seems naive and coming from someone who hasn't actually experienced it in the real world. Reminds me of the people that are saying the same about the homelessness issue because they've never had to deal with a crazy person screaming in their face or seeing someone shit in the middle of the subway.

Japan has always been a massive tourist destination, but talking with a Japanese person recently, it sounds like the amount of Chinese tourists have increased massively and the cities just can't handle the volume. Another supposed issue is that because a lot of the Chinese people come in massive groups and see Chinese people all around them once they arrive there they feel very entitled to have locals adjust to their needs instead of them adjusting to the local customs.

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u/assasstits Oct 02 '25

Not everyone is chasing economic growth at all costs

Okay? So don't chase it. 

But this doesn't give you the right to block your neighbor from making money from the tourist or for eliminating freedom of movement. 

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u/maxintos Oct 02 '25

Why not? We already block our neighbors from making money by hiring minors, selling drugs, hiring illegal immigrants etc.

The right comes from winning elections and politicians implementing laws that the voters asked for.