Japan cancels cherry blossom festival over complaints of tourists littering and ‘defecating’ in yards

The cherry blossom festival, celebrated every year in Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida, Japan, one of the country’s biggest events of the year, has been canceled over complaints from residents about the disruptive behavior of tourists, according to a Guardian article published on Friday.

Fujiyoshida officials, whose town sits at the foot of Mt. Fuji, west of Tokyo, announced on Tuesday that the event, which attracts some 200,000 visitors, will not take place for the first time in 10 years. They say that several tourist-related incidents have recently taken place in the area. Among them, “entering houses without permission to use the bathroom,” “break-ins,” “littering,” and people “defecating in private yards” and “complaining when residents catch them.”

The mayor of the Japanese town, Shigeru Horiuchi, said that “the tranquil lives of the citizens of Fujiyoshida were being threatened,” justifying the decision to put an end to the event as a way “to protect the dignity and environment” of residents. “We felt like there was a crisis,” he added.

Japanese news agency Kyodo News has reported residents expressing concern over the mass arrival of tourists to the area, saying that there are so many people on the sidewalks that their children are pushed around on their way to school.

The authorities’ decision comes at a key moment for Japan, which is holding general elections on Sunday. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called for the elections just three months after taking office, without being approved by voters, after the resignation of her predecessor. The ultra-conservative leader seeks to wield her current popularity toward consolidating her leadership with the election. Management of mass tourism is one of the hottest current issues in Japanese politics.

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