Japan’s Ambitious Airport Concession Program Forging New Path  

Stephane Beaulieu

Tokyo

May 12, 2019

haneda night japan

Japan’s airport privatization process is well under way with concessions for the most attractive assets having already been allocated or are at an advanced stage in the process. While to some, this initiative is just a way for the government to replenish its coffer, transfer the responsibility for the maintenance to third parties and leverage the private sector knowhow to make these assets more profitable, the backdrop for this initiative is much more complex, being closely linked to fundamental issues having to do with the country’s demographics and industries.

Privatization Motivation

Japan is struggling with a critical aging and depopulation problem that is most pronounced in the regions. The main three urban areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya while also affected by this phenomenon are better off as they are still welcoming many young Japanese looking for work opportunities that are no longer available in their home regions. Revitalizing the regions is thus an important part of the greater strategy that features the privatization of regional airports as the gateways to bring in an increasing number of inbound tourists and related jobs. With the Rugby World Cup and Tokyo Olympics just around the corner, and an ambitious agenda to leverage these major events to increase inbound tourism, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLITT) aviation policy for fiscal 2019 calls for strengthening not only the metropolitan area airports but also the gateway function of regional airports with the goal of servicing 40 million foreign tourists by 2020 and 60 million by 2030.

Subscriber-only content. You must be signed in and have a subscription plan to view this information.

Not a member of airportIR?

Subscribers receive access to value-added content including the latest Deal Pipeline intel, in-depth feature articles and analysis, operator/investor profiles, industry insights, reports and much more.

What's Included

  • In-depth deal pipeline content
  • Feature articles and analysis
  • Detailed operator/investor profiles
  • Industry insights, reports and much more

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin faucibus arcu et sem dapibus, faucibus viverra ex semper. Sed maximus urna quis lectus porta gravida. Sed enim sem, ullamcorper at tempor et, tincidunt eget purus. Etiam vitae iaculis dolor. Etiam commodo tempus turpis. Integer ac nunc ac leo facilisis tempus. Pellentesque quis sagittis diam. Fusce congue pulvinar interdum. Curabitur porta libero enim, ullamcorper condimentum diam accumsan quis. In tempor egestas risus, id congue nibh cursus in. Cras sollicitudin fermentum orci et eleifend.

Nam eget imperdiet risus, at luctus nulla. Nullam porttitor, est quis viverra fringilla, ipsum velit tincidunt massa, vel egestas lacus velit eget mauris. Proin finibus condimentum tellus, in commodo felis dapibus a. Curabitur luctus et sapien a dapibus. Mauris faucibus dapibus justo vitae varius. Proin quis mauris eros. Curabitur tincidunt feugiat dignissim.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin faucibus arcu et sem dapibus, faucibus viverra ex semper. Sed maximus urna quis lectus porta gravida. Sed enim sem, ullamcorper at tempor et, tincidunt eget purus. Etiam vitae iaculis dolor. Etiam commodo tempus turpis. Integer ac nunc ac leo facilisis tempus.