Minister urges Japan to invest in Kingdom’s tourism industry
Japan ‘in the dark’ over SK trade status, says minister
THE Kingdom has urged Japan to increase investment in the Cambodian tourism sector. During a meeting with outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Hidehisa Horinouchi on Monday, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon cited the progress of Cambodian tourism as a result of exceptiona l cooperation with Japan.
“I request the Japanese government and investors further increase investment in Cambodia, such as in new tourism products, and create new tourism destinations, especia lly for the many retired Japanese tourists,” he said.
Khon also requested Japan continue its assista nce in access road construction to the Kingdom’s key tourism communities.
Great destination
Horinouchi said Japan is committed to continuing its cooperation with Cambodia and he pledged to bring t he minister’s proposals to t he Japanese government.
The ministr y’s spokesman Top Sopheak on Tuesday said Cambodia is a great destination for Japanese tourists, especia lly Siem Reap province’s temples.
He said the development of new tourism products is necessar y to attract more Japanese tourists.
“Even though Cambodia already has direct flights to Japan, it needs to strive to f urt her expand its tourism products.
“Winter in Japan often makes life for t he elderly difficult, so Cambodia has to work harder to develop a policy to become a second home for Japanese retirees,” said Sopheak.
Cambodia Association of Travel Agents adv iser Hor Vandy said Japanese tourists like nature and culture – and t hat is precisely what t he Kingdom has.
“Cambodia has a ver y favourable natura l env ironment without natura l disaster concerns. If we can develop it well, it will attract more Japanese people, especia lly Japanese retirees to come and live in Cambodia,” he said.
Vandy said that bet ween 20052007, t he Japanese were ranked number one in terms of v isitors to the Kingdom.
“When t he Japa nese a r r ive a nywhere, t hey wil l a lways br ing a lot of good for t he loca ls. They develop human resources, cult ure, qua lit y of life a nd t he env ironment,” he sa id.
The ministr y’s data showed t hat more than 210,000 Japanese tourists v isited Cambodia last year – up 3.5 per cent from 2017.
In t he first half of t his year, Cambodia received about 3.3 million internationa l tourists, a year-on-year increase of 11.2 per cent. Of t hose, more than 100,000 were Japanese – up t hree per cent year-on-year. JAPAN is “in the dark” as to why South Korea has downgraded Tokyo’s trading status, its trade minister said on Tuesday, amid an intensifying trade war between the two neighbours and US allies.
South Korea on Monday created a new category of trading status for Japan, with Trade Minister Sung Yun-mo saying it was “hard to work closely with a country that frequently violates the basic rules”.
South Korea’s list of trade partners was divided into two groups, those who are members of the world’s top four export control agreements and those who are not.
But Seoul said on Monday it had created a new category for countries that had signed the four pacts “but operate an export control system that violates international norms”.
Japan is the only country in the new category.
The move left officials in Tokyo bemused.
“After watching the South Korean press conference, we remain completely in the dark as to the grounds on which it claims that Japan’s export control system fails to comply with [international] principles,” tweeted Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko on Tuesday.
Tit-for-tat measures
Monday’s move is the latest in a series of tit-for-tat measures between the two neighbours.
On July 4, Japan tightened its rules on awarding official export permits for South Korea, meaning that screening applications could take up to 90 days.
Japan has also announced it will remove South Korea from a list of favoured export partners from August 28.
South Korea quickly fired back, rescinding Japan’s favoured export partner status and saying it would also review a military information agreement.
The dispute has raised concerns over the potential implications for their security cooperation in the face of North Korean missile tests, and the possible impact on global supply chains.
Despite mutual criticism over policies linked to wartime history, both Japan and South Korea insist these measures have been introduced on national security grounds.
South Korea is the fifth-largest importer of Japanese goods, while petroleum products, iron and steel products, and electrical machinery including semiconductors are the major South Korean imports to Japan, according to finance ministry trade data.