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© 2025 AFPRecord 36.8 million tourists visited Japan in 2024
By Atish Patel and Katie Forster TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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© 2025 AFP
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tora
If carbon emissions were really an issue, this would never be allowed. And the Japanese government is seeking 60 million by 2030. The greenies need to be out protesting on the streets.
sakurasuki
@mist1
Because tourism is declared a way to elevate Japanese economy, it doesn't matter it will work or not.
Once JGovt said something, all Japanese media will follow.
https://www.travelvoice.jp/english/japanese-prime-minister-kishida-orders-drawing-up-of-a-new-tourism-promotion-plan-by-the-end-of-march-next-year
obladi
Pingpong! Get the tourists out of Kyoto and up to Ishikawa or over to Ehime. Piling up in one area is a lose-lose. Supporting the economies of the other prefectures is a win-win.
asdfghjkl
Too many! Increasing costs for everything so locals cannot afford to do things in their own country. Overtourism has made many parts of Japan horrible to be in…
Yubaru
So? When all the tourists coming here pile into already crowded metropolitan areas, it's not the same!
Newgirlintown
And despite what the Japanese media might tell you, the overwhelming majority of them were respectful and polite. How do I know? How do you know otherwise?
Lindsay
And they will stop coming if japan keeps putting extra taxes and fees on foreign tourists.
divinda
Too bad they don't give the country-by-country stats, which are pretty lopsided.
About 25 million of that 36.8 million came from just 4 places: South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, which comes in at about 64% of the total.
And though many in that group were probably repeat visitors, when broken down, the per country stats equate to about 15% of the population of Korea, 25% of Taiwan's population, and over 35% of everyone in Hong Kong!
Actually, more people came to Japan from the 7 million population city-state of Hong Kong than the 330+million behemoth called the United States.
Also, more people came from still-mostly-developing South East Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, etc) than the entirety of North America and Europe combined.
Geeter Mckluskie
A cursory glance at a map and airfares will provide a clue as to why that is.
Geeter Mckluskie
Will they? I highly doubt it
Seigi
Because being in Japan is cheaper than being in the Caribbean or Southeast Asia.
WeiWei
That is an overstatement of the year so far. I can bet a lot of money on the fact that NONE of this is due to any government tourist promotions.
Fighto!
Congrats to Japan on getting to almost 37 million foreign visitors - an unheard of figure just a decade ago! Funnelling some of these tourists outside of Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto in coming years is the key. Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kyushu and Okinawa - to name a few regions - will probably see a massive increase.
I can easily see Japan hitting the 60 million plus figure by 2030. The bigger question is - can Japan challenge France ultimately as the world's most visited nation?
browny1
Divinda - well clarified.
I expect that the cheapness of Japan atm is the most significant factor for those tourists - esp from Asia - coming in.
Govt promotion may play a role, but it's simple economics - if your money doesn't go the distance, well you can't travel.
My relatives and friends from Australia who visited last year couldn't believe the low cost of things and how far the $A went.
I had to remind them that us permanent mortals here don't have such a general luxury, having to pay high daily necessities and utilities costs on comparably low wages.
They all slipped me a few man - unasked for - for their lodgings - lol.
wallace
The Chinese and South Koreans are the two largest tourist groups.
France has 98 million tourists with a population of 68 million.
Rakuraku
WeiWeiToday 08:44 am JST
Indeed. Nothing to do with the government, all due to social networks. We live in 2024!
Geeter Mckluskie
Considering the cost of airfare and the logistics of travel, I'd say no. France is in the middle of 742 million populated Europe most of which is accessible by train.
Geeter Mckluskie
France is smack dab in the middle of 742 million populated Europe, most of which is accessible by train. Airfare is the largest setback in terms of travel costs.
Fighto!
Better infrastructure overall in Europe than Asia, for sure. Huge array of affordable transport options between nations. But Asia is far bigger in terms of population, and is developing rapidly.
Japan is very well placed in the most populated part of the world to take advantage of the "Asian century". If 60 million is a realistic goal (the govt is usually conservative in their figures) by 2030 - what should the aim be for 2040?
zulander
Because I have observed, with my own eyes and ears. Its definitely not an "overwhelming" majority. Close to 50/50.
Tell_me_bout_it
So BOJ wont do something about weak yen until they hit 60 million visitors. Nice, thank you.
NCIS Reruns
It was observed decades ago that the travel pattern of most people was evolving into what Japanese call "an-kin-tan," i.e., cheap travel to nearby destinations and of short duration. This explains why China, S. Korea, Taiwan etc. account for most visitors. This is unlikely to change anytime soon.
itsonlyrocknroll
Japan, its government, its towns, cities, 47 prefectures, its people must find a means to manging tourism effectively.
I know from my visits to Nagoya, the hotels struggle with guests from China.
However these guests spend, wads of cash, on souvenirs, high cost items of clothing , jewellery, furniture, on one occasion a Hotel receptionist whispered to me a Chinese guest asked if the ornate vintage grand piano in the restaurant was available to purchase.
So a way to smart management must be implemented to take full advantage of this sector.
Japan is renowned for it superior levels customer service.
Polite tolerance, yet stern focus on unacceptable behaviour must be found.
kohakuebisu
I find it very weird that the monthly figure is given the largest headline every month, but this article about the yearly number is fine.
Great numbers from divinda and the disproportionate image people have of this being lots of Americans, Europeans, and Australians. It is not. JP tv loves to show white people eating sushi and saying "oishii", so they are as bad as anyone in creating this false impression. Tourism promotion to Japan often uses white models too. My family has actually done this ourselves.
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
Too many! Increasing costs for everything so locals cannot afford to do things in their own country. Overtourism has made many parts of Japan horrible to be in…
I assume you mean tourists from Japan too? As domestic tourists are the largest part of so-called 'overtourism'.
In plenty of other countries the local are not able to do the things that wealthier tourists can do. It's the way of the world. When Japanese or other tourists visit a country like The Philippines, Vietnam or Cambodia, for example, they are able to stay in much nicer hotels, go and see the famous tourist sites (which cost money) and eat in nicer restaurants than the local people do.
It's normal for wealthier people to pay more and therefore businesses raise their prices accordingly to make profit from the good fortune in their sector. This is businesses.
The weak yen may make it harder for Japanese and local residents to afford what they once could with a stronger yen, but that's hardly the tourists fault.
grc
itsonlyroclandroll - no, Japan is perceived to have a superior level of customer service. The reality ain’t so
gokai_wo_maneku
Sometimes it seems like they are all here in Shinjuku! Not complaining, but...
Geeter Mckluskie
True, but most of its population can't rub two nickles together to make a dime let alone travel abroad
Geeter Mckluskie
Ain't it?
That hasn't been my experience which as been excellent service almost everywhere I've been...and I've been here since 1988.
NCIS Reruns
Depends on one's perspective. It has been observed that China's middle class, who are affluent, educated and able to afford foreign travel, outnumbers the entire population of the US.
wanderlust
Wanted and unwanted at the same time. Like your helping the economy by spending money on hotels, travel, food, souvenirs, tourist admission tickets and shopping; but don't like your physical presence crowding streets and buildings, buses and trains. Can't win!
Newpresident
France had 112 M visitors in 2024…not 100 and not 98 (Wallace) !
stickman1760
Japan gov wants to double this. It will be a nightmare for residents but who cares about them?
Aoi Azuuri
Cheap yen policy causes also rapidly price surge, and expanding poverty such as number of private food-aid facilities records largest ever.
who can benefit in present Japan are only handful industries.
itsonlyrocknroll
grc, I am not for a moment generalising, far from it.
My trips to Nagoya, three top class Hotels, the staff were treated appallingly by one “posse” after another of rude, impertinent, verbally aggressive, abusive barking baying hordes of Chinese “guests”.
Who relentless harassed, whose table manner would shame a zoo. Every morning the staff with have to deep clean the Restaurant carpets.
Yet never once did the staff complained.
Now that is the very definition of superior level of customer service
By the way….
Itsonlypiqueprovokenpreeve, Irritateangerntrollyouonlyknowhow, itsonlygetupyerhooter, Iwishyouwouldsodoff.
not the first time I have adopted my moniker grc, a number of traders thought, to this day I am Satan in a trouser suit.
Above are some of the printable ones, please pick n mix at your convenience
Tamarama
I am a little misty eyed over the COVID years, I have to confess. Barely a foreigner to be seen anywhere in Tokyo. It was so great.
Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, et al......starting to become a big turn off.
Recently at Scramble Square I saw tour groups of Americans with phones up all hooting as they walked across together filming themselves. Cringe.
Geeter Mckluskie
Aricles on foreign residents or foreign tourists, get their readership riled up and attract views.
Population decline is another JT favorite as it, too, garners clicks due to JT's viewers' need to vent on Japan's "xenophobia"
Negative Nancy
The surge in tourists from overseas was a consequence of the change in value of the Yen, compounded by a number of massively popular media elements. Japan has long been a desired desination for many people, but it has become easier than ever to come here because of domestic prices.
Do not blame the tourists themselves, blame the faciliators.
Incidentally, out here in the countryside, there are very, very few foreign people and it is not a problem in the slightest, despite being less than an hour from a major international airport.
Blacksamurai
A big selling point for Japan is its safety even tho that's over-rated at times. Most tourists will have a great time in cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto without getting pickpocketed or scammed unless they're hanging around red light districts.
But the trouble with telling tourists to go to other destinations, even other cities like Nagoya and Himejii is that there's just not enough there in terms of cultural signficance/historical sites apart from rebuilt castles and some temples/shrines. Too much of J cities is taken up with unattractive concrete/woodframe housing and tangles of powerlines and little zoning to separate housing from different kinds of industry. They also lack the novelty value of Tokyo, for example. Yeah the local specialty foods are good but paying shinkansen prices to travel there are not good value for the ticket outlay if you starting point is from a city that tourists do flock to.
Fukuoka should be promoted more because the city has an urban lifestyle close to beaches and islands and more accessible to green places. It has distinct identities in Tenjin and Hakata.
Somebody mentioned Ehime but as somebody who lived and worked in Shikoku for a while some years ago, unless you'e doing the pilgrimage or going to see Awa Odori, there's not that much to offer unless you're into nature and even then the mountains etc are not any different from other regional places. Shikoku has an ageing population like the regional areas do, doesn't have a variety of attractions that tourists like, and the urban areas of Tokushima, Ehime, Kochi and Matsuyama are not enough to bring tourists.
Being a tourist in Japan is very different from being a resident with time on their hands to find out interesting places everywhere and get used to differences in what is called cultural. Japan has no equivalent of Paris, London, Rome, Madrid etc with their historic buildings, sculptures, and artworks and legacy of different waves of people.
And no matter how much regions like Tohoku need tourism, without a real selling point and infrastructure as well as locals being prepared for non Japanese tourists including with some knowledge of foreign languages, it aint happening. Especially with the older population there. Some great nature there and elsewhere in Japan is not enough to draw enough tourists.
Negative Nancy
Indeed, I think name recognition is a large part of why Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima get a lot of visitors. In more recent times it has become easier to find out about other places too, but those big names, plus the fact that they're nicely accessable by the shinkansen...