25 Million Foreigners Visited Japan Last Year... Korea Leads with 7 Million Visitors

Japan National Tourism Organization Statistics
Recovery to 79% of Pre-COVID-19 Levels
3 out of 10 Visitors Are Koreans... Making Up 28% of Total

Last year, the number of foreign visitors to Japan surpassed 25 million for the first time in four years since COVID-19, with Koreans accounting for the largest share at about 7 million, or roughly 3 out of 10 visitors.

Passengers are waiting to check in for the Gimpo-Haneda flight at the Asiana Airlines international counter at Gimpo International Airport. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on the 17th, the number of foreign visitors to Japan last year was recorded at 25.07 million. Although this figure did not reach the all-time high of 31.88 million in 2019, it exceeded 25 million for the first time in four years since the COVID-19 pandemic, recovering to 79% of the 2019 level. The number of foreign visitors to Japan in December last year was 2.73 million, which is 108% of the same month in 2019. This is the highest number of visitors ever recorded in December and the highest monthly figure since the COVID-19 outbreak.

By country, Koreans were the largest group, accounting for 28% of the total with 6.96 million visitors. The number of Korean visitors increased by 25% compared to 2019. This is attributed to factors such as the weak yen, increased direct flight routes, and a preference for short-distance travel destinations. Following Korea were Taiwan (4.2 million), China (2.43 million), Hong Kong (2.11 million), and the United States (2.05 million) in terms of visitors to Japan.

Meanwhile, the Japan Tourism Agency announced that foreign visitors spent 5.2923 trillion yen (approximately 48.1 trillion won) on accommodation and other expenses in Japan last year. This is the first time since statistics began in 2010 that annual foreign visitor spending has exceeded 5 trillion yen.