The "Yokoso Japan" airship's flight over London

23 Jun 04

The "Yokoso Japan" airship

The 'Yokoso Japan' airship flew overthe River Thames on June 20 and 21 as a part of its goodwill tour to promote the Japanese government's 'Visit Japan Campaign' (VJC).

The 75 metre-long airship flew from Calais to London and was seen over the River Thames as it travelled from Greenwich to Wimbledon and back on both days. It did not land in London due to technical reasons, but flew at an altitude of about 300-500 metres above the River Thames.

A press conference was held in Greenwich to introduce and celebrate the airship's flight over London. In his speech, Minister Plenipotentiary Seiji Kojima, said, "The visit of airship 'YOKOSO JAPAN' seems to symbolize a new era of tourism between Japan and the UK. Its arrival strongly encourages us to further strengthen our determination and effort to promote the Visit Japan Campaign in this country of great travelers."

'Yokoso' means 'welcome' and is the word that has been adopted as the VJC's logo. The Japanese government is currently making a concerted effort to transform Japan into a major tourist destination. As part of this endeavour, Prime Minister Koizumi launched the Visit Japan Campaign (VJC) in April 2003 to promote the multifaceted positive aspects of Japan to entice foreign tourists. Particular emphasis is being placed on highlighting Japan's natural beauty, traditional history and unique culture. It is hoped that more people in European countries will become aware of the VJC after seeing the airship.

The airship will travel across Europe for one month before making its way to its new home in Japan. Its route will cover France, Switzerland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Russia among other countries. As well as the VJC, the airship will also promote the Aichi Expo 2005. During the flight of the airship, a crew from the Japan Broadcasting Corporation will be filming the UNESCO World Heritage Sites en route in order to produce archive footage.

The airship prepares to take off