Criticism is mounting over a Kagoshima Prefecture plan to fully subsidize one-way shinkansen fares for foreign tourists, while officials are defending the measure as a necessary bet on inbound demand.

The program, unveiled as part of the prefecture¡¯s fiscal 2026 initial budget proposal, would use about ?278 million ($1.79 million) in public funds to cover one-way Kyushu Shinkansen fares ¡ª ?11,420 for an unreserved seat ¡ª between JR Hakata Station in Fukuoka and Kagoshima-Chuo Station for eligible foreign visitors.

Participants must book through designated reservation sites and stay at least one night at accommodation within the prefecture.

For Kagoshima, leveraging the Kyushu Shinkansen ¡ª which allows visitors to get from Fukuoka to Kagoshima in roughly 90 minutes ¡ª is seen as a way to tap into foreign visitors already arriving into Fukuoka and other gateway cities.

The initiative has drawn more than 170 phone calls and emails to the prefectural government, most of them critical. Complaints have described the measure as ¡°unfair¡± and giving ¡°preferential treatment for foreigners,¡± with many questioning the use of Japanese tax money to subsidize overseas visitors.

Reception to the initiative online has also seen significant pushback.

¡°Why couldn¡¯t they have made it free for both Japanese people and foreign tourists if they wanted to increase the amount of people visiting Kagoshima?¡± read one comment posted on a YouTube video discussing the initiative.

According to prefectural tourism statistics for 2024, the average spending per foreign visitor in Kagoshima was about ?86,000, compared with approximately ?30,000 for Japanese travelers ¡ª about three times higher.

Officials estimate the program could generate around ?1.7 billion in tourism spending within the prefecture. Kagoshima Gov. Koichi Shiota has said that the projected economic impact would significantly exceed the subsidy outlay and ¡°contribute to improving the earning power of tourism-related industries.¡±

The measure is part of a broader ?3.5 billion allocation in the fiscal 2026 budget draft for projects aimed at strengthening what the prefecture calls the ¡°earning power¡± of its tourism sector.

The prefecture expressed concerns that foreign overnight stays have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, and the continued suspension or cancellation of scheduled international flights has fueled concerns about a prolonged decline in inbound visitors and what that means for the prefecture¡¯s economy.