Narita Airport Sees Record Number of Foreign Passengers in Dec.

Narita, Chiba Pref., Jan. 29 (Jiji Press)–The number of foreign passengers on international flights to and from Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, rose 3 pct from a year earlier to 2,108,313 in December, hitting a record high for the month, the airport’s operator said in a preliminary report Thursday. “(The number of) foreign passengers remained firm, especially tourists,” Narita International Airport Corp. President Naoki Fujii said at a press conference. However, the number of flights between the airport and China fell 18 pct to 2,122, following the Chinese government’s request for its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan. In January, the monthly number of China flights had totaled 1,524 as of Saturday, down 27 pct. “The pace of decrease is accelerating,” Fujii said. Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February, he said, “We need to keep a close eye on how the situation develops.” In December, the total number of domestic and international flights to and from the Narita airport increased 4 pct to 3,649,542. For all of 2025, the number of passengers using the airport rose 6 pct from the previous year to 42,255,291. Of the total, the number of foreign passengers on international flights climbed 10 pct to 23,906,893, marking a record high. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]