Ministry frowns on unsolicited shopping and sex

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo: Japan to boost number of guides for foreign tourists
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry decided Saturday to lower the barriers for the highly competitive certification exams for professional foreign-language guides in a bid to sharply increase the number of certified guides available to foreign tourists. The total number of licensed foreign-language guides totaled 9,051 at the end of 2003. In fiscal 2003, only 331, or 5.3 percent, of 6,300 applicants passed the licensing exams administered by the ministry...The ministry also plans to ban professional guides from engaging in acts that would "hurt the credibility and integrity of guides," including promoting unsolicited shopping and taking tourists to adult entertainment outlets.