The Japan Tourism Agency (観光庁), JTA, is an organization which was set up on October 1, 2008 as an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Background of establishment

Japan Tourism Agency seated itself with intentions to stimulate local economies and to further international mutual understanding, following legislation of Basic Act on Promotion of Tourism Nation (in December 2006, to wholly revise Tourism Basic Act), committee resolutions in both Houses of the Diet in the legislation process, and decision at a Cabinet meeting of Basic Plan (in June 2007) which was drawn as provided by the Basic Act. One legal basis of the Agency is the Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The two committee resolutions (of almost the same contents) are made by the Committee on Land and Transport of each House of the Diet, to point out eight issues on which the government should take appropriate measures when it enforces the Basic Act. In issue No. 8, it was stated that the government should make efforts to set up a tourism agency or so. In the Basic Plan, five fundamental targets are set, whose substances are, respectively, to increase the number of: All five targets each have a numerical value. Among the total of 25 various targets, each have some numerical value.

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