This report was posted by the Associated Press the other day: “Lady Gaga on Japan: It’s safe, food’s great”.
The message is good of course – go to Japan and help them out. But it always slightly amusing to me how celebrities are used as sources on issues such as these.
Here’s a snippet from AP:
Lady Gaga says that if you want to help Japan recover from its tsunami disaster, come visit.
The flamboyant pop star, in Tokyo this week for a benefit concert for tsunami victims, said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press that she’s making a point to get out and enjoy the city and its food, and that her fans should do the same thing.
“I can’t say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan right now, Japan in general, is very safe,” she said. “It’s fine to come here. It’s beautiful.”
Lady Gaga holds a coffee cup with a "We pray for Japan" message during a press conference to promote MTV Video Music Aid Japan in Tokyo Thursday, June 23, 2011. Pic: AP.
She’s right of course as Japan suffered a 50 percent drop in tourism and half a million hotel cancellations after the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.
Although if you want a more credible source on Japanese tourism at present see these details from Lonely Planet here including this note:
There is a growing consensus that it’s safe to travel to Tokyo (many of the other major cities in Japan – Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto – are not really affected). Foreign governments have eased their travel restrictions and Japan’s capital is slowly getting back on its feet, with Tokyo Disneyland reopening in April to a queue of 10,000 after liquefaction of its parking lot and electricity shortages. The first post-quake tour group from Singapore arrived in the capital and set out for the Mt Fuji area.
But back to Lady Gaga for the final word:
“The most important thing, and the best thing, we could do for Japan right now is to boost tourism, and so everyone come to Japan and come enjoy the beautiful country,” she said.
Hear, hear.
