Local News

The municipal government of Yakushima-cho on the island of Yakushima, part of Kagoshima Prefecture, will launch a special committee in April to consider the possibility of charging admission for outside visitors to the island as early as FY 2013. The island has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the fees would be used as funding for environmental protection measures. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, three small municipalities on islands in Okinawa Prefecture charge 100 yen per visit. If the system goes into effect, Yakushima would be the fourth local government to charge an island admission fee and the first in Kyushu.