THE NUMBER OF FOREIGN TOURISTS IN JAPAN CONTINUES TO RISE

In September, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan exceeded 2 million for the fourth consecutive month.

According to JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization), 2.18 million people traveled to Japan from abroad last month, slightly higher than the previous month. This figure represents 96.1 percent of foreign tourists in 2019 before the global coronavirus pandemic.

More visitors from the US, South Korea, and Singapore

Japan had some of the strictest coronavirus entry restrictions in the world, which were gradually eased a year ago. All restrictions were lifted in May, and since then, domestic tourism has been recovering rapidly, with 2.32 million foreign tourists already visiting Japan in July.

Visitors from 15 countries, including the US, South Korea and Singapore, hit a new record in September, according to JNTO. The number of passengers arriving from Mexico also broke the record for the month.

Fewer Chinese are coming to Japan.

Although passenger numbers from mainland China were still down 60 percent from 2019, strong demand from other markets offset the loss. Previously, Chinese tourists accounted for about a third of all tourists and 40 percent of tourist spending in Japan, but the ban on group travel has since been lifted. However, strained relations between Japan and China continue to affect tourism. According to JNTO, in the first nine months, more than 17 million people traveled to Japan. This is still far from the record of around 32 million people in 2019.