perhaps surprisingly in view of the stereotypes of the Japanese tourist, generates, in reality, relatively low levels of outbound demand This is largely the result of the high cost of living in Japan and the long hours worked there. Indeed, the Japanese government is so worried about the latter fact that they are now encouraging their citizens to take more holidays! The main segment which does travel from Japan are travelling together, the so-called office ladies'. and segments rarely found elsewhere such as the working soldiers As a developed economy, Japan has medium levels of domestic tourism but receives only a low level of inbound tourism. This maydue to its high cost of living, language difficulties or its isolation from traditional tourist trip generating countries. With the help of Asian tourist markets, which are actually closer to Japan in some cases, it might become more widely visited in the future.