Japan sees record 2.79 million visitors in February due to Lunar New Year boost

And

It’s getting to the stage where taking a trip to Japan is becoming cheaper than one in SE Asia!

Excellent..

More people are coming improving economy..

GO JAPAN!!..

Weak yen must be help that tourism effort, this week 1 USD equal more than 150 yen, 1 EU equal more than 160 yen. So those tourist can buy more stuffs and services, more than ever while they are in Japan.

Great to see such large numbers of people enjoying the many wonderful things that Japan has to offer.

I'm certain it will continue, whether the yen is weak or strong, as Japan has a whole host of unique sites and cultural aspects that aren't replicated in other countries.

Sounds good if the coin is going in your pocket, but if you are a resident in one of these areas it sucks. Prices are higher, traffic is a nightmare, shortages of veggies and staples as they are siphoned off to hotels and If you live on Okinawa, residents are faced with the very possibility of water rationing. I can just about guarantee the hotels will scam the system to ensure Joe Tourist can soak in the tub with the hot water running to maintain temperature.

Tourism is a rather fickle friend. If that is what Japan is betting on for sustained, long term economic growth, it may be in for an unpleasant shock… especially when more people become aware of the extra tax / fee gauging practices places here are becoming enamoured with. If you really want to bet the farm on tourism then be prepared to adapt to tourists’ needs or they will go elsewhere.

Japan is literally the top tourist destination on the planet right now.

Sounds good if the coin is going in your pocket, but if you are a resident in one of these areas it sucks. Prices are higher, traffic is a nightmare, shortages of veggies and staples as they are siphoned off to hotels

Living in one of Japan's top tourist destinations, I can tell you that most of what you wrote also sucks.

Traffic is a problem, but the supermarkets are fully stocked and the money tourists bring has immense benefits for the area.

ProtestantToday 11:17 am JST

If that is what Japan is betting on for sustained, long term economic growth

It isn't, so your fears are unfounded.

There are many pillars to the Japanese economy, and Japan isn't going to become a nation that mostly relies on tourism for economic development.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_economy

Japan is literally the top tourist destination on the planet right now.

It is still France, United States, Spain, China, Italy and so on. That it's trending up and being the top are not even close.

It is still France, United States, Spain, China, Italy and so on. That it's trending up and being the top are not even close.

Nope, Japan:

Japan

https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-countries-world

Separate to that, in a loose, epidemiological study of sorts, Trip advisor found Tokyo to be the top destination:

To find out which destinations were really on the rise, Tripadvisor calculated the winners based on the “quality and quantity of reviews, specific to each award subcategory” that were created by its global traveler user base between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023. Specifically, this category, Tripadvisor added, “identifies places that have seen the greatest year-over-year growth in interest” from users.

After parsing through the data, Tokyo came out as its top trending destination for 2024.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/best-international-travel-destinations-2024-tripadvisor-8424554

Great for Japan though I have noted that the TV shows have started to highlight the number of cases of bedbugs "brought in from overseas."

I agree Japan has made it firmly onto the 'Backpacker trail.'

Great numbers, even without the formerly big spending Chinese. Yen weakness is certainly a big factor!

I am happy Japan is recognized as a very nice country to visit. It deserves so to deliver how Japanese are well civilized and that everything from vending machines to trains can be functional all the time with no under repair sign or strikes going on.

I am less happy to see many locations full of visitors which break the clean, quiet and safe picture I used to know.

I will go to places where there visitors don't can't go like where there is indication only in Japanese.

Yen is cheap and will go down further on average as the economy will never be as radiant as it used to be because of demography.

Nope that would be France. Japan does even make the top 20 of the most visited nations.

It does in the links I provided.

Your links are "top destinations" based on surveys, and of course Japan tops all of those lists. It always does, everyone wants to visit Japan.

Yep.