Japan's April Tourism Numbers

Above, the main entrance to the Imperial Palace. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan's April tourism numbers are now in and it appears that the number of foreign tourists coming into Japan exceeded the number of Japanese tourists leaving the country for the first time in 44 years.

Japan Today reported:

For the first time in 44 years, the number of foreign visitors to Japan in April has exceeded the number of Japanese departures. 

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of foreign visitors increased 33.4% compared with the same month in 2013, Fuji TV reported Friday. The total number of visitors in April was 1,231,500, the highest number ever. 

On the other hand, the number of Japanese people who headed abroad was about 1.1 million, a decrease of 4.4% from April 2013. The last time the number of inbound visitors topped Japanese departures was in September 1970, Fuji reported.

The increase in foreign tourists coming into Japan was attributed to the weaker yen, which was beneficial to foreign tourists as they were able to obtain more yen in foreign exchange, visa waivers for some Asian countries and an increase in international flights to Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

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