Japan Today – February 17, 2016 – TOKYO — The number of foreign visitors to Japan continued to rise in January, and to the second-highest figure ever for a single month, with Chinese tourists flocking to the country thanks to the early start of the school winter vacation period, government data showed Tuesday.
An estimated 1,851,800 foreigners arrived in Japan in January, up 52% from a year earlier. Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Akihiko Tamura said the surge reflected the popularity of Japan as a tourist destination, but noted the unstable global economic situation should be watched carefully.
“We cannot predict (the trend) this year because economic conditions overseas are unstable,” Tamura told a press conference, indicating concern in particular at the economic slowdown in China and volatile changes in currency exchange rates.
By country and region, visitors from South Korea in January totaled an estimated 514,900, accounting for the largest portion, followed by 475,000 from China and 321,000 from Taiwan, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Chinese visitors more than doubled from a year earlier as the one-month school winter vacation period began around Jan 20, about a week earlier than last year.
In addition to shopping and enjoying hot springs, Chinese tourists flocked to Hokkaido to enjoy the snow in Japan’s northernmost prefecture, the organization said.
As other factors luring foreign visitors, the organization cited a weaker yen, relaxed visa requirements and the expanded list of goods that can be purchased duty free.
The Japanese government has aimed to increase the annual arrival of foreign visitors to 20 million by 2020 when Tokyo will host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. But it expects to achieve that goal in 2016 and is considering revising upward the 2020 target figure.
In 2015, a record 19.74 million foreigners visited Japan.
The largest number of foreign visitors for a single month was 1.92 million marked in July last year.