Among foreigners visiting Japan this year, Koreans accounted for the largest number at 6.18 million.
The number of tourists visiting Japan this year exceeded 20 million four years after the COVID-19 incident.
According to the Asahi Shimbun and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) press release on the 21st, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced the previous day that the number (estimated) of foreigners visiting Japan in November was 2,448,000, 2.6 times higher than the same month last year.
It recovered to almost the same level as the 2,441,274 people in November 2019, when it was hardly affected by the spread of COVID-19 infection.
The cumulative number of foreigners visiting Japan from January to November this year was 22.332 million, rising again to the 20 million annual level four years after the COVID-19 incident.
In particular, among them, Koreans accounted for the largest number at 6,175,800 (27.7%). This was followed by Taiwan with 3,802,900 people and China with 2,112,600 people.
Jiji News Agency analyzed, “The feeling of cheapness caused by the weakening yen has become a tailwind, and a smooth recovery is continuing, centering on Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.”
As of December, the total number of foreign visitors to Japan this year is expected to reach 25 million. Travel agency JTB predicted that the number of visitors to Japan will reach 33.1 million in 2024. Expectations are also rising that the number will exceed the all-time high of about 3,199 in 2019.
However, Asahi analyzed that China, which accounted for about a third of the number of foreigners visiting Japan before COVID-19, is continuing to refrain from visiting Japan. It was pointed out that this was the effect of the discharge of contaminated water (processed water, as the Japanese government called it) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.
Yayoi Sakanaka, chief economist at Mizuho Research & Technologies, observed that the number of Chinese visitors to Japan will recover to pre-COVID-19 levels in mid-2025.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.