Chinese Visitors to Japan Down 60 Pct in Jan.

Tokyo, Feb. 18 (Jiji Press)–The estimated number of visitors from mainland China to Japan plunged 60.7 pct from a year earlier to 385,300 in January, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. The January decline accelerated from 45.3 pct in December, as the Chinese government continued to urge its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency. The number of visitors from Hong Kong also dropped, by 17.9 pct. The overall number of foreign visitors fell 4.9 pct to 3,597,500, marking the first year-on-year decline since January 2022, despite record-high arrivals from 17 countries and regions, including the United States and Indonesia. Regarding foreign arrivals amid the ongoing Chinese New Year holiday period, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Shigeki Murata said at a press conference, “There have been some cancellations (by Chinese tourists), but they are being offset by visitors from other countries.” Murata said that the government is not currently considering new aid for businesses affected by the decline in Chinese visitors. In January, South Korea posted the largest number of visitors to Japan, at 1,176,000, up 21.6 pct. Taiwan followed with 694,500 visitors, up 17.0 pct, and China ranked third. The United States logged 207,800 visitors, an increase of 13.8 pct. Many visitors from South Korea, the United States and Australia came to enjoy winter sports or during school holidays. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]