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LDP eyes using IT to boost foreign visitors toward Tokyo Olympics
[July 16, 2014]

LDP eyes using IT to boost foreign visitors toward Tokyo Olympics


(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has compiled a set of proposals to boost the number of foreign tourists in Japan toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by utilizing information technology, a senior party member said Wednesday.



An LDP special taskforce on IT strategy asked the government to draw up concrete measures to attract foreign tourists based on the proposals so Japan can meet its goal of doubling the annual number of foreign visitors from 2013 to 20 million by 2020.

The panel suggested making simultaneous interpretation receivers available at restaurants and tourist information centers, and in taxies, assuming high-speed wireless local area networks will expand further so the wearers can receive language services via the Internet through voice translation software.


The task force called for the development of eyeglass-type wearable devices that can offer route guidance and item description services in foreign languages.

It also urged the government to lay more fiber-optic networks in sightseeing spots such as Mt. Fuji to encourage tourists to introduce sites they visited on the Internet.

The panel proposed using face recognition technology to locate stray children at facilities by taking their photos in advance at the entrance of venues with parental approval.

The LDP group also sought the development of advanced technology that can enable audiences to decide on their own image angles to watch athletes on television at home or on handheld devices.

Robots and unmanned vehicles can also be used as measures against terrorism, the panel said.

The proposals were compiled based on hearings of business experts.

(c) 2014 Kyodo News

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