Japan's foreign ministry has issued an alert stating that Nepal is not a safe destination and advising its citizens not to travel here. The travel advisory by the ministry has caused serious concern among travel agents in Nepal. On 28 July, it said even Chitwan, Pokhara and Kathmandu are unsafe areas. Last year, more than 20,000 Japanese tourists visited Nepal, the second highest number of visitors. The alert will cause big losses for the tourism entrepreneurs, even though they claim that Nepal has always remained safe for the tourists despite the Maoist conflict. Up until this announcement, the Japanese government had not listed Nepal as an unsafe destination.