Foreign Visitors to Japan Hit Record High for Aug.

Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)--The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan rose 36.0 pct from a year before to 2,933,000 in August, a record high for the month, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.

The figure was up 16.4 pct from the same month in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The monthly number hit a record high for each month for the seventh straight month, but it fell below three million for the first time in six months, partly because of flight cancellations due to a typhoon.

In the first eight months of this year, the number of visitors from abroad topped 24 million. At a press conference on the day, Japan Tourism Agency commissioner Naoya Haraikawa said the annual number is expected to reach a new high. “The current trend will continue unless any big accident happens,” he said.

By country or region, the number of visitors from mainland China doubled to 745,800 in August, thanks to a relaxation of border controls and an increase in the number of flights.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]