Tokyo: The number of foreign visitors to Japan in August saw a significant increase of 16.9 percent compared to the previous year, reaching a record 3.4 million for the month. This growth was largely fueled by an uptick in flights from Asian countries, as revealed by government estimates on Wednesday. Travel numbers from Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea rebounded after experiencing a decline in the previous month due to a social media rumor predicting a catastrophic natural disaster in Japan in July.
According to Lao News Agency, China led the influx with 1 million visitors, marking a 36.5 percent rise. South Korea followed with 660,900 visitors, an 8.0 percent increase, while Taiwan contributed 620,700 visitors, experiencing a 10 percent growth. These increases were supported by the availability of more flights, as detailed by data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The organization also noted that despite an 8.3 percent decline in Hong Kong visitors in August, this was an improvement from a substantial 36.9 percent drop the previous month. Overall, in the first eight months of the year, Japan’s visitor numbers surged by 18.2 percent from the previous year, totaling 28.4 million arrivals.