Q3: Which Japanese region would you like to visit?

How does the world currently perceive Japan? How is the "Japan brand" – encompassing tourism, land, food, and products – evaluated overseas?

This article presents findings from the "Japan Brand Survey 2016," conducted in April 2016 across 20 countries and regions. This installment focuses on "Regional Areas in Japan People Want to Visit."

A3 Regional Boom Accelerating!? Popularity of "Hokkaido" and "Okinawa" Rising in East Asia and Thailand
 

The undisputed top regional destination was "Tokyo," followed by "Osaka" in second place. Overall, "Hokkaido" ranked fourth and "Okinawa" fifth, suggesting the regional boom is accelerating.

Focusing specifically on East Asia (China: Beijing, Shanghai; Hong Kong; South Korea; Taiwan) and Thailand, Hokkaido ranked as the top regional destination in Japan. Okinawa also ranked second in Hong Kong and fifth in the other areas.

The author personally noticed more foreign visitors when traveling to regional areas. In East and Southeast Asia, more people have visited Japan multiple times. It seems an increasing number want to explore places beyond Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto to experience the unique charm of Japan's regions.

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<Japan Brand Survey 2016 Overview>
● Purpose: To understand overseas consumers' perceptions and actual behavior regarding the overall "Japan Brand" encompassing Japanese food, tourism, products, etc., and to support corporate marketing activities.
●Target Areas: 20 countries and regions
China (Beijing, Shanghai), Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia, USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia
●Survey Method: Online survey
●Respondent Criteria: Men and women aged 20-59 from middle-income households and above
●Sample Size: 200 respondents per region, total 4,000 respondents
●Survey Period: April 25 to May 18, 2016

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Dentsu Inc. Team Cool Japan
A company-wide cross-functional project team established to promote 'Cool Japan-related initiatives'—expanding products and services leveraging Japanese culture and strengths into overseas markets. Dentsu Inc. also invests in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Cool Japan Organization (fund). The team brings together client company representatives handling overseas expansion, media and content specialists, overseas subsidiary network managers, producers, and planners to undertake initiatives promoting Japan's appeal globally.

DENTSU SOKEN INC. "Japanology" Project
DENTSU SOKEN INC. is advancing initiatives focused on culture as a management challenge for 2020 and beyond. We provide workshops and training on cross-cultural management and organizational culture diagnostics for Japanese companies advancing globalization and foreign companies aiming to penetrate the Japanese market.