Foreign Visitors to Japan: Ideas Later.

Foreign visitors to Japan hit 3.44 mil. in July, new record for month.

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TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of foreign visitors to Japan in July inched up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 3.44 million, a record for the month, government estimates showed Wednesday, with travel demand remaining strong amid the summer holiday season in the northern hemisphere.

By country and region, South Korea topped the list with 894,700 visitors, up 31.9 percent, followed by Taiwan with 763,800, a 26.4 percent increase and a new monthly record, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The number of visitors from China, meanwhile, plunged 56.1 percent from a year earlier to 428,200, as bilateral ties between the Asian neighbors remain soured.

The organization said 17 markets, including South Korea, Indonesia and Mexico, set new visitor records for July.

Last year, visitor numbers from Hong Kong and South Korea were affected in July by a rumor that Japan would suffer a devastating natural disaster that month.

Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Norio Kimura said at a press conference that the increasing diversification of visitors to Japan and the growth in spending on accommodation and other areas suggests that "the inbound tourism market as a whole will generally remain steady."

However, reports of problems involving private lodging facilities used by visitors to Japan, including issues regarding noise and garbage disposal, have begun to increase.

Kimura said the agency would work to ensure proper operations, adding that "it is a given that private lodging facilities must be operated without harming the living environment of local communities."

Article source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260819/p2g/00m/0sc/035000c