Japan tourist arrivals in January mark first year-on-year fall in four years

Visitors to Japan fell 4.9% in January from the previous year to mark the first decline in four years, government data showed on Wednesday, as Chinese tourists stayed away amid simmering tensions between the two Asian nations.

Inbound visitors totalled 3,597,500, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said, falling for the first time since January 2022.

The drop was driven largely by a 61% fall in arrivals from China to 385,300. Beijing has been urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan since November, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary comments that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.

The shift in the Lunar New Year holiday season, which fell in mid‑February this year rather than late January in 2025, also weighed on arrivals.

South Korea remained the top source of visitors, jumping 22% to 1.176 million -- a record for a single month and the first time any country or region surpassed the 1.1‑million mark.

Arrivals from Taiwan rose 17% to 694,500, while visitors from the United States grew 14% to 207,800. Hong Kong registrations fell 18% to 200,000.

Japan's inbound tourism had been climbing steadily since pandemic‑era restrictions were lifted, with monthly volumes frequently exceeding pre‑COVID levels.

-Reporting by Hina Suzuki, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim/Reuters