Hawaii delegation proposes pre-clearance program to bolster Japanese tourism

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An exchange of aloha in Tokyo as the Hawaii delegation — led by Gov. Josh Green — met with some of Japan’s top leaders.

It was Green’s first official to Japan since taking office. He went overseas to discuss ways to bring Japanese visitors back to the islands and help Maui’s wildfire recovery.

Among those also representing the state: House Speaker Scott Saiki and Department of Business, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism Director Jimmy Tokioka.

The reception and the respect given, reflect the long-standing friendship between the two governments.

Every meeting began the same way, with Japanese dignitaries offering their sympathy and support for the Maui wildfire disaster — an event that’s top of mind overseas.

Eight days after the deadly inferno, Japan donated $2 million in humanitarian aid for Hawaii. They were the first foreign government to do so.

The governor says business leaders with ties to the islands also want to help. For instance, the CEO of clothing retailer “Uniqlo.”

“He had a lot of employees on Maui that were displaced that lost their homes, “Green said. “He would like to build housing on Maui.”

A major goal of this diplomatic mission is to help resuscitate Hawaii’s top international visitor market.

The return of Japanese tourists has been sluggish since the pandemic and delayed even more as the yen tries to recover from a year-low against the dollar.

“Japan is still well below 50% at 38% of pre-COVID tourism numbers, and that’s a problem for all of us because Japan is our Malama tourist — the tourist that knows how to carry themselves in Hawaii how to care for ‘aina and so on, so we need them back,” Green said.

The delegation is proposing a pre-clearance program for Japan, which would allow Japanese travelers to complete any immigration, customs, and agricultural inspections before departure, saving them time and improving the visitor experience.

“So when they arrive in Hawaii, they don’t have to stand in line for two hours to get through the airport,” Saiki explained.

“It would open up other routes, possibly even a direct route to some of the neighbor islands, perhaps even to Maui,” Green added.

Expanding pre-clearance to Japan is not new. It’s been discussed for many years.

But Saiki says they now understand Japan’s concerns with the program and the next steps.

“First is the cost — what would the cost of such a program be? And second, how would the program be enforced and staffed in Japan?” Saiki said.

He added that cost, implementation and enforcement are common issues that come up when creating a new program, but finding solutions are possible.

As for next steps, Green says the delegation will make an appeal to the congressional delegation.

“It’s probably in our interest in Hawaii to have this setup, so we’re going to appeal to our congressional delegation to help us with homeland security,” Green said.