PRIME MINISTER STARS IN VIDEO TO LURE TOURISTS

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Prime Minister Stars in Video to Lure Tourists

TOKYO (Reuters) - "Try authentic sushi and tempura."
It's not a sign outside some Japanese restaurant, but a line Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hopes will lure tourists to Japan.

As part of a government campaign to double the number of tourists to 10 million a year by 2010, Koizumi has recorded a promotional video.

Speaking in English he urges people to experience Japan's traditional culture, including the two famous dishes.

It is the first time a Japanese prime minister has starred in such a video, a transport ministry official said Wednesday.

The ministry hopes to run the video on international flights and also in television commercials overseas, including the United States and neighboring South Korea, the official said.

The media-savvy Koizumi, 61, was said to have been keen to play a role in promoting tourism, which he hopes will help revitalize the economy.

But some Japanese may take a different view.

A November opinion poll showed one-third of Japanese do not want more tourists from abroad, saying they fear a rise in crime rates, already at their worst levels since World War II.

Such feelings have risen, fanned by almost daily media reports of crimes by foreigners, even though police data shows that non-Japanese commit only a tiny fraction of crime in the nation.