Japan Foreign Visitors Top 16 Million In January-June

Above, a view of the Sumida River from the Tokyo Skytree. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The numbers of foreign visitors to Japan are breaking and setting new records.

Already, the number of foreign visitors to Japan have passed the 16 million mark.

The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun) reported:

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The estimated number of visitors to Japan in January-June grew 4.6 percent from a year before to a record high of 16,633,600, topping the 16-million threshold for the first time on a first-half basis, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. 

Visitors to Japan continued increasing thanks chiefly to a rise in the number of flights. 

But visitors from South Korea decreased 3.8 percent to 3,862,700 in the first half of 2019, apparently reflecting the deterioration in the bilateral relationship, partly over the issue of wartime labor. 

Total visitors from mainland China surged 11.7 percent to 4,532,500, accounting for the largest share by country or region. 

Visitors from the United States rose 13.1 percent to 875,200 and those from Australia increased 10.7 percent to 326,900. Visitors from Germany were up 11.7 percent at 118,500.

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