In the first half of this year, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan turned downward for the first time in five years since the pandemic. After Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November last year the possibility of "intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency," visits by Chinese tourists were cut by more than half. Tourists from Korea and Taiwan largely filled the gap left by Chinese travelers, but it was not enough to prevent an overall decline.
On the 16th, the Japan National Tourism Organization said a total of 21,084,800 foreign tourists entered Japan from January to June 2026. That was down 2.0% from the same period a year earlier. It was the first year-over-year decline for the first half since 2021, when the COVID-19 outbreak was in full swing. The inbound tourism industry, which had been steadily rising on the back of a weak yen, appeared to hit a temporary brake.
In particular, weakness in the China market drove the overall decline. The number of Chinese visitors to Japan in the first half was only 2,058,200. That plunged 56.4% from 4,718,540 in the same period last year. Local Japanese media said it was the result of the Chinese government, angered by the prime minister's remarks, strongly urging its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan. Even looking only at June, Chinese tourists numbered 340,700. That was down 57.3% from a year earlier, marking seven straight months of decline since the prime minister's comments. Citing this, Japanese media assessed that relations between Japan and China have not improved over the past seven months.
Korean and Taiwanese tourists filled the gap left by Chinese travelers. In the first half, 5,675,100 people from Korea visited Japan, up 18.6% from 4,783,598 in the same period last year. They were the overwhelming No. 1 among all foreign visitors to Japan. Taiwan ranked second with 3,972,200 visitors. Tourists from Taiwan increased 20.9% from last year. In addition, arrivals from the United States reached 1,821,700 and from Hong Kong 1,298,500, as inflows from major countries continued to grow.
However, looking only at the second quarter, the total number of foreign visitors to Japan recorded negative growth for three consecutive months. This month as well, the number of foreign visitors to Japan was 3,148,600, down 6.8% from June last year. The Japan National Tourism Organization analyzed that reduced flight operations in some regions and cancellations due to typhoons had an impact. Still, despite the overall contraction, 15 regions—including Korea, Taiwan, the United States, India, Vietnam, and Northern Europe—hit a record high for June, helped by school holiday seasons.
The Japan National Tourism Organization laid out plans to conduct detailed market analysis and pursue more strategic overseas promotion. Meanwhile, the number of Japanese nationals who traveled abroad in the first half was 6,944,600, up 5.1% from a year earlier.