Japan's ski industry quickly goes downhill
Japan saw around 10.8 million skiers in 2001 compared with a peak of 18.6 million in 1993....
...around half of Japan's 700 ski resorts are in reality bankrupt, but they choose instead to keep their business ticking over because under Japanese law they would have to dismantle their equipment and replant the slopes with forest at their own expense if they shut up shop completely.