Since the early 2000s, Japan′s tourism promotion policy has undergone drastic changes, from being focused on industrial development to more integrated policies that include community development through tourism. Tourism in Japan is extremely important : the value of domestic travel consumption was estimated to be 22.5 trillion yen in 2012 and the number of international visitors reached 13 million in 2014. However, tourism has been criticized for its alleged negative impacts on the environment of destinations as well as on the society and economy. Tourism is by no means a pollution-free industry. This study illustrates the effects of tourism and mitigations describing countermeasures at destinations. In addition, it examines recent trends and transitions in Japan′s tourism policy and promotion, which have been designed to manage the impacts of tourism in order to achieve sustainable tourism development.

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Since Yakushima Island was registered as a World Heritage site in 1993, the number of tourists has gradually been increasing. The amount of litter being thrown away on the mountain area, however, has decreased. This can be attributed to heightened awareness amongst inhabitants and tourists after being granted World Heritage Site recognition. Besides the fact that eco-tourism guides are required to act as environmental stewards, watching over the area and picking up any trash along the trails, it is now illegal for people to throw litter. The amount of human waste being generated in the mountain huts has also increased and municipal authorities have had to impose fees to address this problem, but this may not be suitable for those mountaineers who are not using the lavatory facilities in the huts. It is my opinion that we should create a new tourist fee that would need to be paid by all visitors coming to the island, which would be used to maintain the natural environment as well as to keep all sightseeing facilities in good condition at this pristine World Heritage site.

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Tourism is both a recreational activity and also one of the great joys in life. Taking a trip for sightseeing is an unforgettable event for families and friends, one that deepens the bonds, or kizuna, between people. Many tourist sites are now developing unique ways to invigorate their overall approach to hospitality, omotenashi in Japanese, so that visitors make lasting memories, while also supporting and improving regional economies through tourist revenue. The other side of this coin is the cold fact that tourism puts an added burden on any popular tourist area when it comes to solid waste/human waste management.
　This paper introduces cases and approaches being implemented at some tourist areas, both within and outside Japan, to present an outline of feasible solid waste management programs for the tourism infrastructure.

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Programs developed with the aim of preserving the environment are necessary throughout the world, but the specific measures that need to be promoted will certainly differ greatly according to each country or region. Although such efforts may be commonplace for those living in a particular country or region, tourists who are visiting may not be aware of the rules. Clearly informing tourists about the environmental conservation strategies of the area they are visiting is possible and will lessen any frustrations and misunderstandings that may occur if people are not aware. Information regarding environmental rules and regulations in that particular area must be provided to all tourists using clear and easy-to-understand signage that can be understood by speakers of all different languages so that everyone can participate.
　By analyzing cases of environmental protection programs in South Korea, this paper investigates how problems relating to misunderstandings among foreign tourists can be resolved.

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It′s just a two-hour drive out of Tokyo to the 5th station and even a first-time climber can reach the summit of the highest mountain in Japan—I′m speaking of Mount Fuji. Each year, some 300000 people climb to its peak, approximately 3 million visit the 5th stations of 4 trails at the 5th Station, and 30 million visitors come to partake of sightseeing around the tourist spots at the foot of the mountain.
　In the early 1990s, a nationwide campaign was waged to make Mount Fuji a World ‘Natural’ Heritage. This drew the eyes of the public toward Mount Fuji and directed their attention to the environmental issues facing the area, which were, ironically, illegal dumping of waste and human waste due to the new surge of visitors. The increasing waste being generated at the foot of Mount Fuji, both material and human, became a very serious problem from the 1990s. To address the rise of such problems, Fujisan Club was founded in 1998. Along with the improvement of mountain toilets in 2000-2002, the Club has conducted cleanup campaigns over the past 16 years.
　Since being granted status as a World ‘Cultural’ Heritage Site in 2013, visitors to Mount Fuji from abroad have rapidly increased. The mountain is attracting more and more people, all who come from different cultures and who practice different customs. Addressing the problem of waste management in local communities that want to welcome domestic and foreign guests is now critical to the conservation effort on Mount Fuji.

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Nagano has been involved in a movement to reduce the amount of leftover food waste from households and the food service industry since June 2010. The main activities of this movement are registering restaurants and hotels that want to cooperate with the waste reduction effort and conducting a campaign to reduce leftovers at parties. After conducting a monitor survey, we can confirm that these activities have been effective in reducing food leftovers, however, according to the latest survey, it is clear that still many citizens in the prefecture do not know about the movement or give recognition to the results. In light of this, we will need to develop or efforts further so that more residents will take part and we must continue to work to deepen cooperation between cities, towns and villages.

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On a remote island, solid waste is one of the commonly identified impacts of tourism. Although tourism brings in much needed financial resources to a remote island, it also generates difficult-to-manage wastes, such as packaging. Remote islands usually have very limited financial, institutional and skilled personnel to handle these kinds of waste streams. For these reasons, it is often difficult to establish regional solid waste treatment facilities. Marine litter ends up in the ocean, resulting in significant health and environmental issues. Remote islands are unable to deal with these emerging threats due to their lack of finances and skilled human resources.
　Recycling specifically for remote islands has been developed based on relevant recycling laws, however, there are a number of issues and challenges still to be addressed. These include waste disposal fees, requirement of authorized licenses for shipping, as well as sorting and storage. To reduce and manage the amount of waste being generated, it will be essential to implement innovative policies and strategies on remote islands, so as to establish recycling processes that allow circulation within the island itself, to introduce local deposit systems for litter management, and to regulate one-way containers and packaging use and disposal for island solid waste streams.

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The amount of disaster waste to be generated by the Nankai Trough Earthquake, which is expected to occur in the near future, is presumed to be 15 times that of the Great East Japan Earthquake. A larger amount of disaster waste will need to be processed at a more rapid rate as this is the first step in reconstructing disaster areas.
　This paper takes a look at how disaster waste from the Nankai Trough Earthquake will need to be processed over a three-year period, the same time period it took to deal with the Great East Japan Earthquake. Specifically, it is estimated that temporary incinerators (300 ton/day) will be used to process the combustible waste. In addition, because reducing the number of temporary incinerators can lead to “more rapid processing,” it is estimated that the number of incinerators reduced will have an effect on several proposed strategies, such as establishment of a cooperation system for debris management in non-affected areas, starting to process earlier by developing structures previously tried and the active use of cement kilns, etc.
　Furthermore, I propose the use of Shipboard Processing, which is seen to be an effective way of managing disaster waste disposal using a large vessel to promote faster processing. The paper outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of this process.

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