Koreans Visiting Japan Turn Negative After 8 Years... 27% Decrease Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyeon-jin] While the number of foreign visitors to Japan reached an all-time high last year, the number of Koreans visiting Japan decreased for the first time in eight years.

On the 31st, the Japan Immigration Services Agency announced that the preliminary number of foreign arrivals last year was 31.19 million, an increase of 1.09 million from the previous year, breaking the record. Among them, the number of Koreans visiting Japan was 5.34 million, a 27.1% decrease compared to the same period last year. Since August last year, the number of Koreans visiting Japan has decreased by more than 50% each month compared to the same period the previous year. This is the first annual decline in Korean visits to Japan in eight years.

The decline is attributed to the deterioration of Korea-Japan relations following Japan's tightening of export regulations against Korea in July last year, and the boycott movement against Japan within Korea, which significantly reduced the number of tourists visiting Japan. The atmosphere has continued due to intensified conflicts such as the forced labor issue and the termination of the Korea-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

Looking at foreign visitors to Japan by nationality, Chinese visitors were the highest at 7.42 million. The number of Chinese visitors to Japan increased by 24.7% last year. Korea ranked second, followed by Taiwan in third place. Most visited Japan for short-term stays (98%) such as tourism, followed by study abroad.

Meanwhile, Nishimura Yasutoshi, Minister for Economic Revitalization, said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on the spread of the novel coronavirus (Wuhan pneumonia) that "I understand that many group tour reservations from China are being canceled," and expressed concern that "consumption by foreign visitors to Japan, including individual tourists, will decrease." He added that "we are closely monitoring the impact on exports, production, and corporate profits," and will also monitor the impact on consumer sentiment within Japan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.