Number of Foreign Visitors Reach Records In July and Year

Above, the Kappabashi "Kitchen Town" section of Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

2016 has been a great year for the Japanese tourism industry as the number of foreign visitors to Japan reached new records for July and the year (thus far).

According to Kyodo News:

The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in July rose 19.7 percent from a year earlier to a new monthly record of 2,296,500, outstripping the previous single-month all-time high set in April, the Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday. 

The number of foreign visitors from January through July this year was up 26.7 percent at 14.01 million. 

Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Akihiko Tamura said at a press conference his agency expects the total number of foreign visitors this year to reach 20 million by the end of November. 

Japan saw a record 19.74 million foreign visitors for all of 2015.

The goal of 20 million by the end of November is reachable, but keep an eye on the foreign exchange rates of the Japanese yen. At present, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen is about ¥102.

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