Even if less people come to China, tourist spending on Japan is at an all-time high... Highest number of Korean tourists in September

(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Cho Sung-mi = The number of Chinese tourists coming to Japan has decreased for 10 consecutive months in the aftermath of strained Sino-Japanese relations, but the amount of money spent by foreign tourists in Japan this year hit an all-time high due to the impact of the weak yen.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization on the 21st, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan from January to September this year decreased by 2.9% compared to the same period last year, reaching 30,732,000.

The number of Chinese tourists during this period decreased by 55.5% compared to the same period last year, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks suggesting 'Taiwan's intervention in case of emergency' cooled China-Japan relations in November last year.

Local media predicted that if the decline in Chinese tourists continues, the number of annual visitors this year is likely to fall below last year's record high of 42.68 million.

The decline in the number of overseas tourists is the first in five years since the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

Although the number of overseas tourists decreased from January to September, the amount they spent in Japan was 7.0574 trillion yen (about 59.0865 trillion won), an increase of 1.9% compared to the same period last year, the highest ever.

This can be interpreted as the effect of foreign tourists feeling less burdened about spending money, such as shopping, due to the weakening yen.

The number of foreigners visiting Japan last month was 3,103,700, a 5.0% decrease compared to the same month last year, a decrease for the second consecutive month.

The number of Chinese people was 430,800, a 44.5% decrease compared to the same month last year. The number of Chinese tourists has declined for 10 consecutive months.

Korea, which accounted for the largest proportion of tourists, increased 25.6% to 842,300.

Taiwan followed with 595,600 people, up 13.0%.

The number of tourists visiting Japan from seven countries and regions, including Korea and Taiwan, reached an all-time high as of September.