(Central News Agency, Tokyo, 18th Comprehensive Foreign News Report) Japan estimates that the number of foreigners visiting Japan in May was 3.559900, a decrease of 3.6% from the same month last year. The number of Chinese tourists has also continued to slump due to the deterioration of Japan-China relations. According to statistics, the number and cases of foreigners encountering mountain disasters in Japan have reached new highs.
Japan's Kyodo News reported that the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced on the 17th the estimated number of foreigners entering Japan in May, and also pointed out that the number of foreigners visiting Japan in that month had declined for two consecutive months.
According to report analysis, influenced by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "Taiwan troubles" theory, the number of Chinese tourists has declined for six consecutive months, a sharp decrease of 60.4% from the same period last year, with only 313,000 tourists left. However, on the other hand, tourists from the United States and European countries have increased, and the impact of the situation in the Middle East seems to be limited to some regions.
The number of tourists from the Middle East, which had previously decreased in April due to the deterioration of the situation in Iran, increased significantly by 67.8% in May, reaching 39,000. Although the reduction in flights has led to a decline in tourists from some countries, this year's Islamic festivals fall in May, which in turn will drive overall growth in the region.
Foreign tourists gradually penetrate into Japan's secret places, which also sounds a safety alarm.
The latest statistics released today by the Japanese National Police Agency (equivalent to the National Police Agency) show that the number of mountain disasters across Japan in 2025 will reach 3,623, an increase of 266 from 2024 and a record high since records began in 1961.
Japan Jiji News Agency reported that there were 3,122 mountain disaster accidents in 2025, an increase of 176 from 2024, the second highest number since statistics were collected. The number of dead and missing people in mountain disasters last year was 332, an increase of 32 compared with 2024. Among them, among foreigners visiting Japan, the number of mountain disaster cases and the number of people reached 174 and 246 respectively, both hitting new highs since 2018.
Areas with a large number of mountain disasters include the Chichibu Mountains spanning Kanto and central China, the Tanzawa Mountains in northwest Kanagawa Prefecture, and the Takao Mountains area in western Tokyo. The number of victims in the Chichibu Mountains reached 171, 168 in the Tanzawa Mountains, and 106 in Takao Mountains.
On Mount Fuji, due to the introduction of climbing control measures, the number of mountain victims decreased by 34 compared to 2024, to 49. In terms of prefectures, Nagano Prefecture ranks first with 392 people, Hokkaido ranks second with 250 people, and Yamanashi Prefecture ranks third with 219 people.
Nearly half of the victims of the mountain disaster were people over 60 years old, with the largest number of 749 people in their 70s. The report pointed out that among the dead and missing, victims in their 60s accounted for about two-thirds, presumably due to factors such as physical strength. Among them, only 698 people submitted mountain climbing plans, less than 20% of all those who encountered mountain disasters.
Data show that the number of foreigners visiting Japan who suffered mountain disasters increased by 111 compared with 2024, reaching 246, of which 6 were dead or missing. Among them, skiing outside the designated ski trails and foreigners visiting Japan for mountain climbing account for about 80%.
Accidents are mostly caused by getting lost, falling, slipping, etc. The number of victims due to bear attacks was 27, a sharp increase, tripling the number in 2024.
