The New Normal interview series: Towards a more involved and compassionate society

‘Countries around the world started implementing travel restrictions in February this year. Since then, we’ve seen the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan drop by 93 percent (Japan National Tourism Organization data) on a year-on-year basis in March, an 86% decrease in Japanese tourists travelling abroad, and an equivalent nosedive in pageviews on the TripAdvisor site. On the other hand, there was quite a bit of demand for travel within Japan until late March, before the government declared a state of emergency. Regardless of whether people were actually travelling, the search traffic was there, but even that started dropping off from late March.

‘The movement restrictions currently in place have devastated the travel industry. But people’s desire to go out and experience new things hasn’t disappeared, so I’m confident that travel will bounce back once the restrictions are lifted. Our latest data indicates that many people in the Tokyo region are searching for hot spring resorts nearby. I’ve heard that camping grounds are getting crowded on the weekends, so people appear to be looking for destinations they can drive to, as opposed to flying or travelling by train.

‘Looking back at how things worked out after events such as the SARS outbreak or the 2008 financial crisis, the recovery started with domestic travel. People preferred day trips and single-night stays, and looked to relax in a single destination instead of touring multiple sights. I think that sort of travel will again power the gradual recovery of the industry.

‘When can we expect the return of foreign tourists to Japan? Or is it really obvious that they will return? I think we need to use the coronavirus crisis as an incentive to rethink foreign tourism to Japan.

‘For example, destinations that relied on Korean tourists took a big hit last year, when Japan-Korea relations soured and visitors from Korea declined dramatically. This served as a reminder for tourist destinations throughout Japan that they can’t simply rely on the growing number of foreign tourists in general. Instead, they need to think strategically about how to attract visitors from specific countries. 

‘Kyoto has benefited greatly from foreign tourism in recent years, but that came at the price of declining domestic tourism. In March, when I visited Nishiki Market for the first time in a while, the place was empty. The market used to be “Kyoto’s kitchen”, where locals would go for sparrow yakitori and things like that, but it’s pivoted so heavily towards tourists that locals have abandoned it.

‘You see the same phenomenon with restaurants. Places that only target tourists suffer greatly as soon as the travellers stop coming, as is the case now. In contrast, places that have the support of the local community are still flourishing by selling takeout meals. I think both tourist destinations and restaurants have realised how important it is to be loved by the locals, but serious thinking still needs to take place on the balance between tourists and local residents.’

‘The coronavirus crisis is causing a shift in thinking, from “what can be done online” to “what can’t be done online”. I think this shift will lead to all sorts of changes.

‘Take the movement to get rid of personal seals. In non-Japanese companies, it’s common practice to convert signed contracts into PDFs, forward them electronically and receive approval by email. The current situation may well push Japanese companies to adopt similar practices.

‘My company started encouraging staggered commuting and remote working in mid-February, and now I think that if you only need to be in the office once every week, maybe living in Tokyo isn’t even necessary. Depending on how working from home plays out, I might start thinking about moving, or decreasing the size of our offices. The purpose of the office may change from a place where everyone works to a place where people can get together.

‘What, then, can’t be done online? Travelling is the obvious answer. The rise of the internet has moved travel agency functions online, but the real-world act of coming and going hasn’t changed.

‘Now, however, when we can’t actually go outside, I think online communities and virtual worlds are about to become a lot more “real” than before. In Steven Spielberg’s movie “Ready Player One” (2018), the world has been devastated by pollution, climate change and political dysfunction. Most of humanity lives in slums – a harsh reality that people escape into Oasis, a virtual-reality world. I think this is an instructive example when we think about the shrinking distance between the real world and the internet. If that distance keeps shrinking, we might see the emergence of tourism guidance and recommendations for the virtual world. Those recommendations could in turn be used as tips for life in the real world.

‘Enjoying art is one of my hobbies, so I was happy to see Japanese museums use their digital archives to put on online exhibitions during the Covid-19 crisis – something museums in other countries have been doing for a while. On the other hand, I realised that appreciating art is one of those things that lose half their charm when done online. While reopening all museums at once would probably be impossible, I hope they can be opened again soon – even if it requires taking visitors’ temperature and limiting viewing times and visitor numbers. Another thing I hope they implement at this time is online reservations, which are already commonplace in Europe.’

‘The sharing economy – Uber, Airbnb, car sharing, share houses – has picked up speed in Japan over the past few years. I hear that people who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 situation are now turning to Uber Eats for short-term income. The idea of making food deliveries a shareable service – instead of each restaurant operating their own – is something I’ve been advocating for a while.

‘To take another example, people once used to go to public bathhouses, but the rapid growth of the Japanese economy in the postwar era made it possible for every family to have their own bath at home, and communal bathing declined. But everyone heating their own water and bathing at home can be considered inefficient, so maybe public bathing will make a comeback. What I’m trying to say is that where the ethos of sharing – the idea that not everyone needs to own a certain thing as long as there’s a system for sharing said thing – becomes entrenched, the definition of wealth may very well change.

‘On the topic of definitions, I think infectious diseases are really interesting, though that word might give the wrong impression. With Covid-19, we are told to worry less about getting infected ourselves and more about the possibility that we might infect others. That’s completely different from other diseases. A lethal cancer only kills the person who gets it, but with this coronavirus, maybe you won’t die but someone you’ve infected very well might. You’re not responsible only for yourself. That forces a change in thinking that can affect society as a whole down the road.

‘To expand on that, instead of brushing off things like homelessness and the fact that some people have to live out of internet cafés as matters of personal responsibility, more people might start thinking about these issues as “their business” – something that could happen to themselves. Maybe more people will start to believe that one good turn deserves another, that lending your hand to those in need can benefit yourself later. That’s one really good possible outcome of the coronavirus crisis.’