The mayor of Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is close to the border with South Korea, welcomes the enactment of a law that regulates land use around facilities important for security and remote islands near the border on the 16th, but the purpose is for tourism etc. He suggested that regulations should be relaxed when it is clear.
This law regulates the use of remote islands near national borders and areas around important security facilities such as the bases of the Self-Defense Forces as "gaze areas", etc. In "special gaze areas", prior to buying and selling land and buildings. It is obligatory to report your name and nationality.
In Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is close to the border with South Korea, as a result of a survey conducted by the city and prefecture in 2008, it was found that South Korean capital seems to have acquired land adjacent to the base of the Maritime Self-Defense Force Tsushima Defense Corps.
In an interview with NHK, Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu commented on the enactment of the law, saying, "For national defense and for the protection of citizens, it is not desirable for foreigners to buy land around important facilities, and I welcome it. ".
On the other hand, in Tsushima City, the number of tourists from South Korea has decreased to almost zero due to the deterioration of Japan-South Korea relations and the influence of the new coronavirus, but in 2018, three years ago, 410,000 accounted for nearly 80% of the total. A lot of Korean tourists were visiting.
Regarding the impact on the local economy, Mayor Hida said, "In the case of Tsushima, Korean people run hotels, guest houses, restaurants, etc. due to geographical reasons. Even if it is foreign capital, the purpose is decent. If it is land acquisition for tourism, etc., deregulation should be considered. It is still desirable to balance security and economy. "