Cultural clashes, ‘unruly crowds’ at Japan’s cherry blossom parties stir overtourism debate

Japan’s famed cherry blossom season has become the latest battleground in a broader debate over overtourism, etiquette and how foreign visitors are portrayed when trouble flares.That debate sharpened this week after the conservative Sankei newspaper ran a report accusing “unruly crowds” of foreigners of misbehaving during hanami – or cherry blossom viewing parties – across Japan, prompting renewed calls for visitors to show greater respect for local customs.In an echo of wider demands to rein in foreign tourists, Sunday’s edition of the paper carried a story under the headline: “Singing and dancing during ‘explosive cherry blossom viewing’ can lead to tourism pollution.”The article said noise, “dangerous rule-breaking” and overtourism were “pushing residents to the limit”.People walk under fully bloomed cherry blossoms at Kitanomaru Park in Tokyo on April 2. Photo: AFPTo support its claim, the report said residents of Dazaifu, in Fukuoka prefecture, had complained about groups “making a racket in Chinese” at a popular hanami spot.