By AFP and Focus | 2026-01-22

TOKYO -- A record number of tourists flocked to Japan in 2025, officials said, but a steep drop in Chinese visitors in December highlighted the growing impact of strained ties with Beijing.

Japan logged 42.7 million arrivals last year, according to the transport ministry, topping 2024's record of nearly 37 million as the weak yen boosted the appeal of the "bucket list" destination.

However, the number of tourists from China last month dropped about 45% from a year earlier to about 330,000.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which urged its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan.

The announcement on January 20 underscored the warning had impacted visitor numbers.

China had long been the largest source of tourists to Japan, but that position has now shifted amid strained political ties.

South Korea emerged as the top source of visitors, with 9.46 million arrivals in 2025, followed by mainland China, excluding Hong Kong, at 9.1 million and Taiwan with 6.76 million, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Attracted by a weak yen, Chinese tourists splashed out the equivalent of $3.7 billion in the third quarter.

In the wake of Beijing's travel warning, Li Benjing, an employee at a small travel agency in Tokyo targeting Chinese tourists, told AFP the firm had seen a 90% decline in sales.

"The impact for our business is huge," she said.

However, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said it was a "significant achievement" that overall visitor numbers had topped 40 million for the first time.

"While the number of Chinese tourists in December decreased, we attracted a sufficient number of people from many other countries and regions to offset that," he said, adding that there had been a "steep" increase in tourists from Europe, the United States and Australia.

"We also hope and want to make sure that Chinese visitors will return to us as soon as possible," he added.

The overall increase stems partly from government policies to promote attractions from Mount Fuji's majestic slopes to shrines and sushi bars in more far-flung parts of the archipelago.

The government has set an ambitious target of reaching 60 million tourists annually by 2030.

Overtourism

Japan's biggest travel agency, JTB, predicted that overall tourist numbers this year would be "slightly lower" than in 2025 because of a decrease in demand from China and Hong Kong.

Nevertheless, tourism income was expected to grow because of rising prices of items such as lodging and because of strong spending among visitors.

Because of an uptick in repeat visitors to Japan, the places tourists want to visit are shifting from large cities to rural areas, said JTB.

Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, as complaints of overcrowding in hotspots like Kyoto grow.

As in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been a growing pushback from residents in the ancient capital.

The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples.

Locals have complained of disrespectful tourists harassing the geisha in a frenzy for photos, as well as littering and causing traffic congestion.

Elsewhere, exasperated officials have taken steps to manage tourism, including introducing an entry fee and a daily cap on the number of hikers climbing Mount Fuji.

Workers briefly erected a barrier outside a convenience store in 2024 to stop tourists from standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral.