No. of foreign tourists to Japan hits record high 31.19 mil in 2018

Sad to hear that Japan has devolved from a country of innovation, to a stagnant economy now grasping at the straws of tourism.

Pretty good if you're making a yen from it ( as I do, indirectly).

But as a resident, it's now pretty much impossible to enjoy many of the sights and experiences in peace, especially in Kyoto. I long for the good old days when Kyoto on a weekday was pretty easy to get around.

Unstoppable growth! At this speed, will Japan eventually replace France as most visited nation in the World? It may take 10 more years. I hope so!

Can you share what you have been smoking? Even at 40 million it is still less than half of what France gets NOW.

Oh and growth here is far too easy to stop, one earthquake here, one tsunami there, and those numbers will drop.

Sustainable growth is far better than just pushing for new records every year, particularly when infrastructure and more importantly the people who live here, are not ready for it, and many dont want it either!

At this speed, will Japan eventually replace France as most visited nation in the World?

Japan is going through its 'Thailand' phase right now, but should the yen collapse tourism could increase to levels that would have the locals crying out for another period of Sakoku.

Are there any real plans post 2020? Cool Japan is fading, Osaka Expo 2025 has no tourist appeal, they can't host rugby for at least another decade or more, sumo and soccer are almost dead in the water, AKBNGYOSK2048 are superceded by K-Pop, and there is very little left that is not already a UNESCO cultural heritage site. SMAP need CPR, anime has left the country, and Namie Amuro has retired. Guess it is disaster tourism at Fukushima, the new fish market and Hachiko?

Do people think these numbers are sustainable, or will remain at this level into the future? Particularly after 2020. Or is it just another boom, before a bust, or at least a slight deflation?

8.7% growth is in fact a terrible result if they expect 40 million they need another 30%. For 2014,2015,2016,2017 the number of tourists increased by 29%, 47%, 21%, 21% respectively. Tourism has peaked, started declining, and apart from the Olympics will continue in this direction. Thank god.

https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-database/stats/inbound/

Yes, Ganbare Japan, unstoppable growth! Most visited nation in world. They will come and learn about the morally superior ways of Shinto, emperor worship, the peerless art form of Kabuki that puts Shakespeare to shame, and the oh so tatemae smiles of welcoming Japanese. They will even be astonished to learn there are 4! seasons here! Then they will , every single one of them, be asked when they are going home. Maybe as soon as possible?

The only ways to get to Japan are by air or sea (to get to France, can also go by land)

AlexBecu...And you base your enthusiasm on what? 3 days in Tokyo and a zippy Shinkansen ride down to Kyoto for a weekend?

Hence the need for an exit tax to "promote tourism".  Just another revenue raisinf scam to add more money to their swollen coffers so they can waste it on nonsense.

I was in Kyoto during December 24th to 28th. The tourist areas were jammed. Some places were like my visit to the Imperial Palace on January 2nd. Shoulder to shoulder, cheek to cheek.

BTW, nobody offered me 3 million yen not to visit Kyoto.

Japan is such an affordable country to visit. People are polite, the street is clean and the prices of food in restaurants are reasonable. A problem is the long lines in the front of the immigration desk in the airports. Automation of immigration processes will relieve them.

Hope Japan does overtake France, been there and Japan is better! Better food, more polite people, more places to visit, better shopping experience.

Do you know why Parisians hate foreigners? Because they’re overrun with them like the rats in their sewers. Let’s compare Japanese and French only if and when the tourist rates come close to being the same.

Would be interesting to know why people come here for a short, expensive visit ? And the breakdown by their originating location , age and sex.

If you take a look at the data from the Japan Tourism Agency site, the rate of increase has slowed quite a bit. Even declined YoY in September. I doubt it will hit the target of 40 mil anytime soon.

If Japan is going to be hitting 35 million plus visitors, can I suggest with the exit tax, that they invest in new or expand the JR rail ticket office at most of the airport terminals, especially Tokyo terminal it took me over an 1.5 hours to get my JR rail pass! this is was a major frustration especially when you have been on a plane for xx about of hours

Just by reading the comments you can tell how jelly people are. Always trying to shoot down any positive news.

Hope Japan does overtake France, been there and Japan is better! Better food, more polite people, more places to visit, better shopping experience.

Number of foreign tourists visiting Japan will keep on increasing year after year as they have tremendous love and affection for Japan in their hearts.

Alex Becu: "Just by reading the comments you can tell how jelly people are. Always trying to shoot down any positive news.

*Hope Japan does overtake France, been there and Japan is better! Better food, more polite people, more places to visit, better shopping experience."*

Good observation, Alex. I totally agree with you that Japan is a better place to visit compared with France.

Unstoppable growth! At this speed, will Japan eventually replace France as most visited nation in the World? It may take 10 more years. I hope so!