Firm set up in Kumamoto to supply food to cruise ships

October 11, 2017

KUMAMOTO- A trading company has been established in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, to supply local foods to large foreign cruise ships making port calls in the city, at a time when Japan's government aims to boost the number of people visiting the country by sea, Jiji Press learned Wednesday.

The firm, Kumamoto Marine Inc., regards cruise ships with more than 5,000 passengers and crew members as a potential market, informed sources said.

Kumamoto Marine, with a capital of 4 million yen, was set up in Yatsushiro on Sept. 13 by four local businesses, including a liquor seller, a transport firm and a construction company, the sources said.

The government has set a target of increasing the annual number of foreigners visiting Japan by cruise ship to five million in 2020.

In July, the government designated six ports, including Yatsushiro Port, as hubs for visits by foreign cruise ships, as part of measures to increase tourists from abroad.

While an increasing number of foreigners are visiting Japan by cruise ship, some local communities that host ports have failed to gain economic benefits because they lack large commercial facilities for such foreign visitors to spend money.

Kumamoto Marine targets such ships, planning to sell a wide variety of farm, livestock and fishery products, and beverages produced by local businesses, the sources said.

In January, the Kumamoto prefectural government announced a partnership with Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world's second-largest cruise ship operator. Jiji Press