Hirono: Expanding Preclearance to Japan is Good News for Hawaii's Tourism Industry, Economy & Japanese Visitors Eager to Visit Hawaii

Statement

Today, the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it will take a significant new step towards the expansion of its preclearance program to Japan's Narita International Airport which currently offers direct flights to Honolulu International Airport.

"The fact that that the United States will go forward in working to expand preclearance to Japan's Narita International Airport is a good news for Hawaii's tourism industry, the economies of our state and nation, and visitors from Japan who are eager to visit Hawaii," said Senator Hirono. "Japan is one of our closest allies and our countries have so much to offer one another. Travel between our two nations is just one way we can continue to strengthen our relationship. Tourism is our state's number one industry and anything we can do to promote travel to Hawaii is a step toward strengthening our economy and creating jobs."

Today's announcement follows on the efforts of Senator Hirono and other stakeholders to advocate for expanding the program to Japan. In February, Senator Hirono led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry urging them to expand preclearance to Japan. The letter was signed by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).

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