The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Thomson Reuters 2022.Foreign visitors in Japan surge after tourism reopening
By Elaine Lies TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Thomson Reuters 2022.
56 Comments
Login to comment
sakurasuki
See that happy face with no mask.
Asiaman7
Did you happen to see the one photo attached to this article? Four tourists, no masks.
But good for them! Tourists enjoying the uncrowded outdoor air shouldn't be impacted by the neuroses of others about outdoor masking.
Ah_so
Yes. The clue to that is "8th wave".
Unless the cases are all based in parts of Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara. 100,000 cases is not caused by a small number of vaccinated tourists.
Fighto!
Very promising news, but still only about 1/4 or 1/5th of Japans target. The winter months should see a big boost in foreign inbound tourism. Especially if the yen remains so weak.
Sanjinosebleed
Umm you may want to check you maths 101 there champ....oh dear
Ah_so
I've zoomed in and looked carefully and you absolutely can't see that - it isn't even in high enough resolution to see it. In one photo there looks like a crease above the chin, but to me that looks like the natural shape of the face.
It seems like you see what you want to see. Imagine wanting to see masks that much!
Strangerland
I zoomed in, and looked correctly, and sorry to tell you, this wasn't clear at all. In fact, I can't even see it unclearly. I don't see these supposed creases.
Which doesn't surprise me, as I don't ever recall getting any kind of 'crease' on my face from a mask, except maybe behind my ears.
didou
I guess it does include all those coming for business.
Was in Narita last week. It was actually pretty busy. A big change. But many shops have disappeared and still few are open
Monty
If you look careful, you can see creases in their faces where the masks were.
I've zoomed in and looked carefully and you absolutely can't see that
I zoomed in, and looked correctly, and sorry to tell you, this wasn't clear at all
My Goodness!
People are really obsessed with masks!
Moderator
Readers, please do not get fixated on masks. That is not what this story is about.
Mark
Beautiful, Good for Japan, Good for the world.
Tourism is just another tool to connect the world, learn and understand one another.
Roten
I am arriving on Friday for a month, and my Japanese-born and raised friend will finally be back to visit her mother, arriving on Sunday. She will be back for two weeks. We are both glad for the opened borders and are bringing money to spend.
Elvis is here
Great news. Stepping towards pre-2020 and the new norm. Going through Shinjuku twice a day, recently, I've seen many non-Japanese tourists. All wearing masks and seemingly enjoying themselves. How could that be?
KazukoHarmony
Will we stay home? Will we avoid trains? Will we cancel gatherings with family and friends? No, no, no.
What a difference a few years, a few vaccinations, and a little education makes.
noriahojanen
The entry requirement is still responsible for it, as visitors need to show proof of three shorts, and keep a mask on in crowded indoor spaces.
Ligger2
Good news?
I have already started having to wait in line, now, for my favorite restaurants.
Fewer seats on the buses and trains recently also.
Be careful what you wish for.
Asiaman7
Exactly! The number includes all foreign residents (including permanent residents) entering the country and all passengers of any nationality (including Japanese) entering Japan for the purpose of transiting.
Thunderbird2
So foreign tourists who are fully vaccinated and boosted are to blame for the rise in Covid in Japan? Where the cases have been high all along? You don't see other countries pointing at Japanese tourists and accusing them of spreading the virus.
Anyway, it's nice to see tourists in Japan again.
EdwardCanada
Would love to go to Japan one day.
yoshisan88
Getting to visit Japan without worrying about overcrowding makes me really jealous of those 4 in the picture.
Strangerland
An average of 6 million a month.
Huh? You can't get an 'average' from a sample size of one.
Actually, maybe you can, I don't know the rules of creating an average. But even if it technically is an average, it's not one you'd want to use for extrapolating anything.
Also, 500,000/1 = 500,000, not 6 million.
Ah_so
Oh get off your high horse.
Elvis is here
In the photo, masks clearly have been removed for the photo op. If you look careful, you can see creases in their faces where the masks were.
Michael Machida
Welcome to Japan! We all missed you! ; - ))
kohakuebisu
As an ongoing annoyance, the number includes workers, not just tourists. However for tourists in particular, you don't just announce a border opening and then get a stampede. Many folks out there will have to book time off work before they can go on any big trip. Last month's number will only be a fraction of pent-up demand to visit Japan.
International tourism isn't very good for the environment, but its good for most other things. As a country Japan is too inward looking and does too much navel gazing, so more exposure to other forms of thinking, behaviour, lifestyles, ... sounds like a big positive to me.
Steven Mccarthy
There’s definitely a “surge” going on since October…. Higher and higher each day .!:
Yubaru
This was expected, and actually prayed for, particularly by Kishida, so he can point to an "improving economy".
yoshisan88
Maybe it will go up a bit. However, tourism in Japan and many other countries, especially Asian ones, will not be back to pre-pandamic levels until China re-opens.
Elvis is here
*sorry. On the right. People are obsessed with directions too.
Matt
Reduce long distance travel costs and it will surge even more
Jonathan Prin
Japan still too expensive for airplane tickets..
Glad it will not comeback as pre-covid.
I prefer from far when there are mostly Japanese, with behaviour making it so enjoyable.
I went in September and was only hakujin in the few hundred guests hotel. Lovely.
Bad taste to me to wear kimonos when you don't even know how or why wearing it.
Elvis is here
%^) You need new glasses and a better smartphone.
noriahojanen
The kimono photo above looks nice.
Rodney
Good luck with communicating tourists. After two years of service industry staff being basically unemployed or working in supermarkets, their English skills have probably diminished to the level of certain NHK news translators.
Asiaman7
The reality.
Sven Asai
Yes, that’s very nice and beautiful, but only for the news. That simply can’t be good for environment and also most part of the involved businesses. My guess is that with those still small tourists numbers the environmental impact is relatively big and the profits, if any, relatively low.
painkiller
A year!
Elvis is here
Yes. So what? My post above still applies.
TokyoLiving
And it will be millions by 2023..
GO JAPAN!!!.
Hideomi Kuze
LDP government benefits tourism group at first. because influential politician of party is chief of tourism association of Japan.
On the other hand, its tourism-first policy hurried easing restriction, caused Covid19 surge, now new cases at Japanese society is worst in whole world.
One news show reported about family who infected at travel destination.
And, Covid19 deaths at Japan is directly proportional to cases.
Aly Rustom
Exactly! The BS title of this article. U have to filter through the BS to find the actual situation
Sanjinosebleed
Remove the Hypocritical PCR or Triple vax mandate and you will see a lot more tourists! Dump the useless masks while you're at it!
Septim Dynasty
No Chinese = No money.
painkiller
The number of foreign visitors to Japan rose to nearly 500,000 in October,
An average of 6 million a month.
dagon
Charging the bank accounts of tourist/retail adjacent rentier investors.
Japanese public: About 1000 an hour.
Japantime
Unfortunately the number of COVID cases is rising as well. Must be a link.
Meiyouwenti
Is it just a coincidence that we’re seeing a surge of foreign tourists and what looks like the 8th wave of Covid infection at the same time?
asdfghjkl
Saw a visiting family the other day…..all masked. But youngest kid must have been tired and freaking out the locals. Unmasked he was basically wiping his face back and forths across the table where they put the bread for customers. And the parents were oblivious.
tamanegi
Mask it up foreigner!
asdfghjkl
Love how foreigners are so self absorbed that they think people here want tourists. Yes the related industries do for obvious reasons. But other people really don’t….