Data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on September 16 showed that Japan received 3.0989 million international visitors in August, down 9.6% year on year, marking a return to year-on-year decline after a one-month rebound.
While arrivals from East Asia, Europe and the US remained strong during the summer holiday season, a sharp drop in visitors from mainland China, along with flight cancellations caused by typhoons, weighed on the overall figures.
Visitor numbers from 14 countries and regions, including South Korea and Malaysia, reached record highs for August. Italy and Spain also set new monthly records for arrivals to Japan, underscoring continued strong demand for travel to the country.
By market, South Korea recorded the largest number of visitors, with 850,500 arrivals, up 28.7% year on year. Taiwan ranked second, with 666,000 visitors, up 7.3%.
Amid deteriorating China-Japan relations and a travel advisory issued by the Chinese government, arrivals from mainland China plunged 59.0% year on year to 418,000. The figure has remained below year-earlier levels for nine consecutive months.
