Copied from CNN — Tokyo
A surprisingly large number of Japanese say that travel is no longer a priority for them.
A survey done last year by global intelligence company Morning Consult showed that 35% of Japanese respondents said they were unwilling to travel again, the highest number of any country.
Tetsu Nakamura, a professor at Tamagawa University and a tourism behavior and psychology specialist, says the results are not at all surprising.
“In 2019, even before the pandemic, (Japanese) people who traveled abroad at least once a year made up about 10% of the population,” says Nakamura.
According a study Nakamura did back in 2016, there are what he calls “passivists,” those who say they want to travel abroad but won’t, and “denialists” – people who show no interest in traveling abroad and won’t.
Together, these two groups comprise around 70% of respondents in his pre-pandemic study, with “denialists” comprising roughly 30% of them.
Happy at home
Despite Japan having the world’s most powerful passport, fewer than 20% of Japanese people actually have passports in the first place, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For some of these “never travelers,” domestic trips within Japan are enough.
“Many Japanese feel like overseas travel is time-consuming even before they step foot on foreign land, that it takes a lot of time, skill and planning,” says Nakamura.
Hiroo Ishida, 25, a caregiver from Chiba Prefecture and motorcycle enthusiast with a love for Harley Davidson bikes, says this resonates with him.
“I have some desire to go to the US, mostly because in Western media shown in Japan, that’s the place to go to for motorcyclists, but I most likely won’t go because just planning it is an inconvenience. Japan is abundant with destinations that motorcyclists find attractive,” says Ishida.
His last trip abroad was a field trip to Guam in high school; he’s never felt the urge to go overseas since, he adds.
