Japan is to offer 10,000 foreigners free plane trips to the country next year to try to kick-start the tourism industry.
Visitor numbers have slumped since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami on 11 March and caused a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
In the three months after the disaster, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country crashed by more than 50%, the ABC reports.
The Yomiuri newspaper says that in a bid to boost the flagging industry, the country will offer 10,000 foreigners free air fares to visit next year.
The tourism agency will ask would-be travellers to submit online applications with hopes the successful applicants will write positive reports about their experiences in Japan.
The programme, which will require travellers to cover other costs such as accommodation, is expected to start from April next year, subject to government budgetary approval.
The government has said Japan is safe except for the immediate vicinity of the crippled Fukushima plant in the northeast, where work crews are still trying to bring the facility to a cold shutdown.
