Currently tour guides in Japan for non-Japanese speakers are regulated by the government. 1949 the law passed that to be paid for the service of a tour guide for non-Japanese speakers require passing exams and qualified by Japanese government. If a guide does not get paid for the service, then this government regulation does not apply. Hence, there are volunteer tour guides for non-Japanese speakers at major tourist spots in Japan.

Last week Japanese parliament passed the law that people who does not have government tour guide license for non-Japanese speakers can be paid for the service. There are mixed opinions regarding this. Pro is obviously that every year non-Japanese visitors are increasing and there is immediate demand for tour guides for non-Japanese speakers. Con is obviously that tour guides may not have proper background knowledge, some will say thing people want to hear.