Japan’s tourism boom is showing no signs of slowing down. The country saw 21.5 million visitors in the first half of 2025, a 21% jump from last year and a record high for the period, the Japan National Tourism Organization announced on Wednesday.
Tourist spending in the first six months of the year also reached new heights — $32.2 billion (4.8 trillion yen), a roughly 23% year-over-year increase. While South Korea represented the largest source of visitors with 4.78 million travelers, a 7.7% increase from last year, China registered a notable surge in travel to Japan — a 53.5% jump to 4.71 million visitors.
In addition, Japan saw double-digit percentage increases in visitors from Taiwan and the U.S. However, the number of visitors from Hong Kong fell by a third to 166,800 following unfounded predictions that a mega earthquake would hit Japan, which drove some airlines to cancel flights from Hong Kong to Japan.
The ongoing visitor surge comes as the Japanese government launched on Tuesday an administrative body aimed at easing citizens’ concerns about the rise in the number of foreign residents, including the impact of mass tourism. Japan set a new record with 36.8 million visitors last year, and the country has set its sights on attracting 60 million tourists annually by 2030.
Skift reported last month that Japanese officials have outlined plans that will require all tourists to have private health insurance, a measure that would aim to curb the growing problem of foreign visitors receiving medical treatment and leaving the country without paying.
Japan’s Top Tourism Source Markets
(1) South Korea: 4.78 million visitors, +7.7%
(2) China, 4.71 million visitors, +53.5%
(3) Taiwan, 3.28 million visitors, +10.3%
(4) United States, 1.7 million visitors, +26.7%
(5) Hong Kong, 1.27 million visitors, -0.4%
The travel industry’s top event returns this fall.
September 16-18, 2025 – NEW YORK CITY
AloJapan.com