First FY2026 Meeting of Advisory Board on Tourism Promotion

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko attended the first FY2026 meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Advisory Board on Tourism Promotion on June 4.

She told the meeting that the number of foreign visitors to Japan totaled a record 42,680,000 last year and that the Japanese capital climbed up to second place in the Global Power City Index for the first time.

Governor Koike also noted that Tokyo was named the Best Overall Destination in the TOURISE AWARDS 2025 organized by Saudi Arabia. The award ceremony was held in Riyadh.

"Tokyo is brimming with a wide variety of attractions with its historic sites from the Edo period (1603-1868), a culinary culture that Tokyo boasts to the world, cutting-edge technologies, and anime,” she added. The governor also noted that many people have already visited the Tokyo Aqua Symphony fountain, which opened in March, and the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which reopened in March after four years of renovation.

“On the other hand, when we look around the world, the international situation—particularly in the Middle East—continues to change on a daily basis, and the future remains uncertain. Furthermore, as the number of travelers increases, various challenges are coming to light,” the governor said. “I would very much like those of you involved in the development of Tokyo’s tourism industry to provide us with a shared roadmap, which we can then use to formulate a new plan for promoting the tourism industry.”