Posted on: Friday, April 4, 2003

Lingle's Japan trip should come soon

Gov. Linda Lingle has told legislators she intends to join a delegation to Japan that would encourage continued visits to the Islands in time of war.

That's good news, because in Japan it helps to have such invitations and solicitations come from the highest levels. Of course, visiting dignitaries won't do the trick alone.

The invitation will have to be backed up with sophisticated marketing efforts that strike the right balance of respect and encouragement. Part of that marketing will be to point out the relative safety of the Islands in these troubled international times without making too much of a point about it.

While Lingle says she has now decided to go to Japan, she is still debating the timing. We would urge an early rather than later trip. Plans for travel by Japanese consumers are even now being made for months into the future. It is that travel, as much as travel right now, that we want to protect and encourage.