China's tourism authority urges boycott of APA hotel group

Hey, can't blame them, and with the number of Chinese tourists that come to Japan every year, this is the fastest way to get to this owner, hit him in his pocketbook.

Ha-ha! Oops. Looks like someone forgot they aren't guaranteed a customer base.

Frankly - it might backfire on these self appointed Chinese Tourism Overlords and be a boon for APA hotels.. I personally know 100's of Japanese businessmen who would flock to a chain of hotels that was devoid of Chinese tourists ( for their own undeniable reasons ).

This whole "race to the bottom" in the hotel industry for companies feeling they need to compete with others by just lowering and lowering prices ( and subsequently having to cut staff and services ) in order to compete for the Chinese tourist dollar is a path to bancruptcy for some of these chains who are now simply surviving on "cash flow" because there is NO profits at the current rates - - the tourists WILL eventually dry up and after 1 month of negative cash flow with no income the players will start to drop.

Watch for he Chinese investment dollars snapping up hotel chains that are faltering under this phenomena...

APA hotels are not exactly aimed at Chinese tourists anyway...

APA's rooms are tiny even for Japanese standards...

Don't the APA hotels have chains in some western nations? If so, do they also stock copies of the book?

That's the way to do it: name them and shame them, then hit them in the wallet.

I would have thought APA Hotel would have been blacklisted by Chinese and South Korean tourist agencies long ago.

"This whole "race to the bottom"....by just lowering and lowering prices..."

You're joking, right? It's been a race to the top, thanks to Chinese tourists,hotel prices are skyrocketing.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/Japan-hotel-room-rates-near-pre-2008-level

The japanese government doesn't need to publish propaganda, it's private sector is happy to do the job.

Absolutely a no brainer hotel chain. Potentially your best source of new business is Chinese. So lets p__s them off and say Nanking did not happen. Can you imagine if Japanese in Hawaii found a similar book in their hotel rooms saying there were no atom bombs dropped? APA has always been an arrogant inflexible hotel group. Check in is 3pm and even though all rooms are ready hours ahead, you just have to wait. Then the ridiculous human then machine check in system to get to your very tiny room.

Japanese and Chinese scholars research concluded that Nanking Massacre did happen , but it is just the death toll, Chinese say 300000 and Japanese say from 20000 upto 200000. But even if it had been only 20000, still it would be a Massacre and something that Japan should be remoseful about. The book is written in very insensitive way and can be interpreted as if a whole killing had never happened. Hotel room is there to get a comfort and rest for all visitors and not there to argue about the sensitive issue or be pushed by one side's view.

Not just Chinnese and Koreans,but all other nation should join boycotte.

China's tourism authority urges boycott of APA hotel group

Good idea! Other tourism authorities should follow suit.

Right wing nutcases!

PPAP-A

Good on them - get APA where it hurts. Although historical fact and reasoning doesn't seem to work on these kind of revisionists, they always seem to balk at the prospect of losing $$$.

Boycott calls never work. Remember Russia, North Korea, Iran?

APA hotels are not exactly aimed at Chinese tourists anyway...

So denial makes it ok? Top marks for that logic old chap!!

Now Chinese can exercise their freedom of choice: "please, stay in China".

Aside from the book and their tiny rooms, APA's poster ads on the metro put me off using them, as i'm not interested in funding that old bints silly hat collection.

The damage isn't just to APA, but to Brand Japan. Why don't we hear from JNTO?

As my dear old dad used to say, "Life is difficult for those who cannot control their wackiness." But APA's owners are so rich, I guess they can afford to put a higher priority on proselytizing their wacky views of history than filling their guest rooms, Who knows, there may even be a few Japanese who will book a room with APA just to show their approval. But not many.

Is anybody surprised by this? I totally agree with China on this one. However, I have to wonder , how many Chinese hotels have anti-Japanese propaganda in their rooms?

disillusioned:

However, I have to wonder , how many Chinese hotels have anti-Japanese propaganda in their rooms?

I don't know. You tell me (assuming you've been to hotels in China).

Laptop - Yup, the guy's a billionaire, so he feels it's his turn to "give back to society", like a certain fella in the U.S.

He certainly has his own agenda, but hey, he's got billions, so that must make some kind of expert, kind of, sort of.

Well, he certainly must know more than historians around the world who have devoted their lives to studying the subject because, you know, he's a billionaire and a lot of time, and so he must know something that these international historians don't know.

I mean, he must, he has to know something, because he's a billionaire. So, yeah, like I'll spend my free time reading what this "expert" thinks about the whole matter, because he's a billionaire, and so his word should be heeded.

Sense - The JNTO is the last organization that's going to publicize this side of certain Japanese people's psyche. Their job is to promote all that's good about the country.

Good on the Chinese for sticking up for themselves.

Someone at JNTO should be asked some pointed questions about this on camera. It's much more important that the symbols on a toilet or for an onsen on a map. There is a word in Japanese, "fuuhyou higai", for "reputational damage" that I've heard tourism people use quite a lot recently, but it's been when there is an earthquake and tourists stop going to the area around it regardless of whether their intended destination was actually damaged. JNTO should not sit back and let a private business create international bad feeling toward Japan.

Ignore the Chinese market at your peril Japan! Most Japanese seem to be able to ignore the be headings,bombings and other atrocities conducted under a Japanese initiated war......why?

it's a shame their site is already back!

It's always uncomfortable being in agreement with the Chinese government on anything, but in this matter they are absolutely correct. This bozo's actions are outrageous and need to be punished.

first time ever i agree with china

Wow, does this company not have a board of directors? What an astonishingly foolish move by the CEO

Can you imagine if Japanese in Hawaii found a similar book in their hotel rooms saying there were no atom bombs dropped?

That is an excellent point. I just wanted to stress it a little more. Good one sherman.

by the way CEO is a woman, she is a bit nutty even to the Japanese. They know her reputation. It is not the government stance but certainly goes beyond free speech and should not be allowed.

I stayed at an APA hotel once a few years ago without realizing they were doing this (I didn't bother looking through the books/pamphlets they had). If I had known I would never had stayed there and now that I do, I never will again (and I travel domestically on business quite a bit so this will likely cost them a few potential bookings per year).

I would not often find myself in total agreement with the pronouncements of a Chinese government entity, but this is one occasion on which I do.

I haven't had a look at Trip Advisor recently, but I wonder if they are now reflecting these revelations (I, too had never looked at the pamphlets, so it's news to me).

APA is arguing that its boss is exercising the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of Japan. I suppose guests in his hotel who take offense at the book can exercise their own freedom of speech, by utilizing pages from the book as a toilet tissue substitute.

@Fred Lewis

Watch for he Chinese investment dollars snapping up hotel chains that are faltering under this phenomena...

The things you've said to make that conclusion is not factual, but if it was, then can you imagine a Chinese business person buying the faltering APA hotel, and then providing its rooms with books that showcases the Nanking Massacre? That'd be the day.

Bravo! Hit them where it hurts.

APA hotels are not exactly aimed at Chinese tourists anyway...

Many of the cheap business hotels I have been to had quite a few Chinese tourists. A lot Chinese people also like cheap accommodation like anybody else on the planet who travels not to just hang out in the room all day.

Anyways, who goes to a small, cheap hotel to read a book?

Good! Don't limit it to Chinese tourists, though; recommend ALL (including Japanese) boycott the hotel group until all materials are removed, and the president apologizes. He made the bed for the whole group, staff included. Sadly, they all have to lie in it and not just him. He may have the right to free speech, and even the right to keep his opinion in the faces of his customers -- but he does NOT have the right to expect customers when he does it, as THEY have the right to choose.

Like the Chinese or not, they are the ones travelling to Japan and spending big money with "Made in China" products.

On a business trio to Aomori I stayed in one APA hotel there and felt offended with the amount of porn material in the room and the bad flavour of that prize winning black curry they served me for breakfast."

I wonder if the staff remove the book knowing the occupant will be a Foreigner. I would if I was the manager or on the board. I would make it a protocol. But as one commented It could be a business plan aim at alienating certain groups from it business without coming under discrimination laws. I choose my hotel on convenience to transport or events, Mid price, Onsen. So I don,t stick to a certain Group. But if I came across this book in my room I would not know nor be able to read Japanese. But now I know and if I see a Japanese book in my room and it is this book concern I will comment in it.

APA is an acronym for Always Pleasant Amenity. A surreal irony for such a contradiction in terms. .

@Disillusioned

how many Chinese hotels have anti-Japanese propaganda in their rooms?

In my fairly substantial experience, none. Anti-Japanese propaganda is certainly an issue in the PRC, but not something one sees in hotels.

Chinese people will go where ever they find cheap option. Book or no book, if it is cheap, they will go there.

@kohakuebisu

JNTO won't get involved publicly about this matter. What they will do is steer tour operators and agents from using their hotels when it comes to partnering with them. I used to work with for them and we would never get involved in a spat like this. People would contact us about discrimination they experienced but in the long run there isn't much they can do about a private company matter. When it came to working with partners (airlines, hotels, tour operators, etc) stuff like is usually taken into consideration when choosing what partners to work with especially when we have familiarization trips with tour operators and travel agents.

Frankly - it might backfire on these self-appointed Chinese Tourism Overlords and be a boon for APA hotels. how can it be a boon when Japans population is shrinking, if this crap isnt knocked on the head soon it could spread throughout Japans tourism industry. Chinese dont need to come to Japan they can easily chose a different asian nation. Considering Chinese make up a big part of Japan visitors Id say theyve got the high ground in this situation, and were not even talking about the bad publicity leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.

Good! Hit 'em where it hurts.

Pretty certain he would have known that it would cause this reaction among Chinese tourists and predicted the call for boycott.

Makes me think he doesn't care if they don't come to his hotels.

Many Chinese tourists come to Japan because, unlike China, Japan, with all its problems, is a democracy with a reputation for creativity and quality that China lacks. From the food to the temples, Japan has more reliable quality and continuity than China. The Chinese will keep coming...

how many Chinese hotels have anti-Japanese propaganda in their rooms?

In my fairly substantial experience, none. Anti-Japanese propaganda is certainly an issue in the PRC, but not something one sees in hotels.

Other than war movies on the TV, I've never seen anti-Japanese propaganda in Chinese hotels.

cjapan

Thanks for your comment about JNTO policy. However, the point stands that the press in Japan should talk to someone who can pull rank on APA hotel, a politician, organization,etc. who would then distance themselves from the material and embarrass the hotel in the process. That's how things work in civilized countries.

What we have instead is Japan as it works, not as people say it works. The "wa" has been disturbed, Japan's reputation (i.e., the "group") has suffered as a result, and the fabled mechanism for hammering down the sticking-out nail is nowhere to be seen. Instead there is paralysis and mealy mouthed excuses about free speech. Note that Holocaust denial is not free speech in Germany. They'll put you in jail for it.

wtfjapanJAN. 25, 2017 - 01:52PM JST

Frankly - it might backfire on these self-appointed Chinese Tourism Overlords and be a boon for APA hotels.

how can it be a boon when Japans population is shrinking,

Latest tourist statistics

Hotel lodgers in Japan, November 2016

Japanese: 35,852,510

Chinese: 1,044,660

Chinese are a very small segment in the hotel industry.

Interesting that China actually getting involved with a minor player in the hotel industry just to boost their "propaganda" image in their country and in Japan. It is like Japan reacting to S. Korea's statue issue and telling Japanese to boycott S. Korea, except that it would be at a different scale.

As for hotel itself... as a former hotel person, I can say that it is one way to advertise and promote to get a target specific market rather than to try and get everybody to come. It also gets the free media exposure, just as Trump did in his campaign. You get BOTH those that oppose and those that agree to come, just to find out. That is something failing performers sometimes do, get a scandal to get the attention they need. The media loves it.

China plays that very often to "distract" while they covertly do things.

As for hotel itself... as a former hotel person, I can say that it is one way to advertise and promote to get a target specific market rather than to try and get everybody to come. It also gets the free media exposure, just as Trump did in his campaign. You get BOTH those that oppose and those that agree to come, just to find out. That is something failing performers sometimes do, get a scandal to get the attention they need. The media loves it.

Hmmm, imo pretty tedious reasoning kazetsukai. Do you really think APA are using some sort of reverse psychology as MKG strategy to attract not only their 'target market' ( I assume you mean J and other racists?) but also those who oppose/feel offended and insulted by the message? I don't buy it tbh.

I reckon it's just a dumb, stubborn decision by ignorant ppl who need to get out of their ivory tower.

APA hotels are conveniently located and cozy, but I won't stay there anymore.

Not being tedious but placed that idea as an observation of the resulting media exposure which resulted from the participation in a controversial issue. I do not know if that was intentional or not. Nor do I know all the facts of what is resulting at the hotel. All I can say is that it got the attention and exposure that went as high up as for China as a government to react to it. That is... quite a powerful exposure for any person and his hotel.

I had hoped that it would have been an interesting and meaningful perspective on this issue.

Here is some video content of this in English, for those interested.

Right wing nationalist hotels in Japan (10:02): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcSqAulB-lo

Japanese Hotel CEO Says Nanjing Massacre Was Fake, Wall Street Journal (2:05): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozyvQ5E97eQ

Ah this made my day. I love the idea that Motoya was thinking, "Hmmm how to spread the word about my crazy and easily disprovable revisionist history? Well, there's Twitter, or I could make a blog, perhaps start a YouTube channel... Wait! I've got it! I'll write a book and put it in every one of my wife's hotel rooms! It'll be just like the Gideon Bible that's managed to cause such a huge upswing in the popularity of Christianity over the last 100 years!"

StookibillJAN. 25, 2017 - 05:38PM JST

"Hmmm how to spread the word about my crazy and easily disprovable revisionist history?

Try to disprove it by yourself. The problem is it is not so "easily disprovable" as you think. I wonder why English speakers are prone to authoritative views, such as the Bible or news paper.

Less mainland Chinese tourists in Japan is bad news. No, really, I assure you, we need this uncouth and boorish crowd to prop up the economy.

Moderator: Please do not post offensive garbage like this.

This whitewashing of history just cannot be allowed to stand without firm correction. Japan today is a totally different country, I have visited many times and like the place, its ambience and attitudes. The Japanese culture was very different both before and after the war, a religious -based, emperor God nightmare. All that changed and into modern times went Japan with all its economic inventiveness and skill. Although the past may be forgiven, atrocities must be admitted - but not either denied or constantly played on.

The moderator should eat my manure.

Mr. moderator, did you break wind or did you just open your mouth ?

the book underlined the refusal of some in Japan to “squarely face history.

Some?? Just who the hell faces its history squarely in Japan? There's nobody. Everybody denies it. From restaurant owners, workers, govt. officials, even students.

This hotel chain has no one to blame but itself.

However, this is the only 'proof' the anti Japan crowd needs to spout off that all Japanese are racist xenophobes denying their past.

CH3CHOJAN. 25, 2017 - 06:43PM JST

Try to disprove it by yourself.

http://www.history.com/topics/nanjing-massacre

Boom. Mic drop.

StookibillJAN. 26, 2017 - 11:32AM JST

Do you know what it means to prove and disprove?

I would suggest the transcript of Far East Military Tribunal (Tokyo War Crime Trial) is a good place to start.

It's not just about China. The books displayed in the hotel including anti-Jewish and anti-US content. Basically the hotel owner's stance would be Japan is innocent in WWII while US and China should take the blame.

So it is not really about exact numbers of victims in Nanjing massacre, it's simply about Japanese right-wing's ideology -- if the Nanjing controversy solved, they will find any other issue to justify Japanese invasion during WWII anyway. This group of people are nothing but racists and sociopath.

I always find it fruitless to argue with racists about historical facts. They have made up their mind about other races as inferior anyway.