Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Customers are seen at a counter for tax exemption at the Daimaru Shinsaibashi department store in Osaka in July.
17:04 JST, October 16, 2025
The Japan National Tourism Organization announced on Wednesday that the number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2025 reached the 30 million mark at the fastest pace on record.
The visitor count from January to September was 31.65 million, an increase of 17.7% year on year. At the current pace, the annual total will exceed 40 million for the first time.
By country or region, mainland China was the origin for the most visitors, at 7.48 million, up 42.7% year on year. The number of tourists from mainland China had been sluggish after the pandemic but has seen a recovery, particularly among those in their 20s to 40s and those traveling as families. Visitors from South Korea followed at 6.79 million, up 5%, and then Taiwan at 5.03 million, up 9.8%.
Visitors from Hong Kong, however, decreased 7.6% to 1.82 million. Baseless rumors that “a major earthquake will hit Japan in July” that spread in the region through such means as SNS had a big influence on the figure.
For September alone, the number of visitors to Japan was 3.26 million, up 13.7% year on year, a record for the month.
The weak yen has made travel to Japan a more affordable option, contributing to the continued strong performance.
The Japan Tourism Agency also announced on Wednesday that the preliminary figure for visitor spending in the July-September period was a record high ¥2.13 trillion, up 11.1% year on year.
By country or region, visitors from mainland China spent the most at ¥590.1 billion, up 18%, followed by Taiwan, up 10.7% to ¥302 billion, and the United States, up 19.8% to ¥221.5 billion.
AloJapan.com