Foreign Visitors to Japan: Updated Aug. 20, 2026

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

Ideas

By now after years of seeing significant increases in foreign Visitors to Japan, foreign tourism might be considered an economic driver as it perhaps now causes an increase in Japan's overall GDP growth. 

But at the same time, there are some in Japan who think maybe now Japan has hit the over-tourism stage in some areas such and Kyoto and Osaka, which is causing some Japanese residents to be unsure of larger increases in foreign tourism in Japan.

It was not too long ago, just before the pandemic that many in South Korea were boycotting Japanese products and traveling to Japan for a short weekend vacation was not very popular.

But as times change, many South Korean don't even think twice about taking a weekend trip to Japan as the flight from Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda is only a two hour flight and now company employees in South Korea can easily extend the trip to three days with a day off on Friday or Monday.

And Taiwan, being just a little farther can do the same too as both Taiwan and South Korea can enjoy greater purchasing power with the weak Japanese yen which means everything is cheaper for them.

Unfortunately, there always seems to be some kind of diplomatic challenge between China and Japan as whether warranted or not Japan seems to be sometimes says things that China doesn't seem to like.

However, even though the Chinese government cautioned Chinese citizens from traveling to Japan, which is like directive not to go, it seems that 482,200 Chinese citizens ignored the supposed order and still went to Japan.

Maybe like Spain and France in Europe, Japan is the new hot spot to go to in Asia as it seems 17 markets set new visitor records which might have been unheard of even back ten years or so ago.

Yes, but the dates might be a little off as the rumor about a natural disaster was actually in the summer of 2024 not 2025, but then again the article might be talking about another possible natural disaster which could be true as Japan seems to get a lot natural disasters and rumors of natural disasters.

While foreign tourism is up there are other areas of concern in Japan such as the new or latest immigration rules which are beginning to turn away those who want to live and work in Japan which maybe many foreign tourists know nothing about.

As Japan wants and needs foreign tourism money they don't want any more foreigners, it seems, living and working Japan at this time. 

Unfortunately, there are always going to be foreign tourists in every country that don't have manners and do things that the local population doesn't like, such as noise and garbage disposal which is very important in Japan and doing it correctly is important.

Yes, foreign tourists should know and understand that they are guests in Japan and should act like guests and be respectful of the local population and its customs and try to do things that the average Japanese citizen would do everyday.

Have a nice day!

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

Japan and Foreign Visitors: Updated May 17, 2024.

 

Foreign visitors to Japan top 3 mil. for 2nd straight month in April

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2g/00m/0li/053000c

Ideas:

Tourism in Japan is always a fragile situation. While foreign tourists spend a lot of money in Japan, due to the weak yen, there are challenges with foreign tourists and the idea of over-tourism or too many foreign tourists causing problems in Japan, such as again, over-crowding, not respecting Japanese customs or culture and going to places that cause too much stress for the local population.

Japan is usually a very clean place but if foreign tourists just drop trash on the street or road, for example, it gives a bad impression to the Japanese about foreign tourists. Of course in Tokyo and the Shinjuku area, young Japanese students do the same thing and leave trash everywhere too.

The Bank of Japan knows it has a balancing act to keep the domestic economy and the tourism economy in a good balance, and if it increases the key interests rate, the Japanese yen could become much stronger, which means it could deter some foreign tourists from going to Japan and spending money.

Its very possible, that some areas of Japan could impose a tourism tax as a way to keep foreign tourists in line and or help pay for the services needed related to all of the tourists, for example that visit Osaka or Kyoto.

Right now, after the latest report of the Japanese economy contracting, inbound foreign tourists might be the only thing keeping the Japanese economy from completely contracting too much, as tourists spend a lot of money in Japan.

Again, if the Bank of Japan does actually increase the key rate, and the US decreases its key rate, and both rates come closer together, in the future, it could cause the Japanese yen to become stronger and then foreign tourists might think the yen has become too much for them and maybe they will think twice about going to Japan, which could cause challenges for some businesses in Japan like the pandemic did.

Its interesting that before the pandemic, there were some not so good ideas in South Korea about Japan, but it seems money solves all situations, a joke, as the weak Japanese yen, helped solve the issues between South Korea and Japan.

China is having it own issues at this time, and maybe the issue with Japanese seafood might be keeping some Chinese tourists away from taking trips to Japan.

To be honest, I never thought much about tourism and Taiwan, but it seems the Taiwanese are keen on Japan too.

While Indonesia and Malaysia are sizable Muslim populations they enjoy many Japanese products in their home countries and they too, despite the far away distance want to experience Japan.

Just what is the breaking point for tourism in Japan, meaning how many tourists can Japan actually handle.

There is talk now, that there are too many tourists in some places and also the idea that some, or many, are not following the rules in Japan and causing considerable challenges for the local Japanese population.

Again, there might be a tourist tax, that will be used to help clean up the streets and other problems that foreign tourists cause, and if they do get to 60 million, which is possible but not probable right away, it might put too much stress on the local Japanese population.

The weak yen is great for foreign tourists in Japan but not so good for Japanese tourists who want to travel to other countries or areas such as the EU and the US.

Have a good day and be safe!