Japan reports a 40.6 percent surge in foreign arrivals in January

Japan reported a 40.6 percent increase in the number of foreign visitors for January of this year.

In the report released by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) on Wednesday, 19th February, this was marked as the sharpest rise in foreign arrivals in six months.

This surge was likewise driven by a greater number of travellers flying in from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

JNTO reported that the country also received more visitors from Australia and the United States, mostly for the winter sporting season.

Key demographics for January 2025

Approximately 980,300 Chinese nationals visited Japan, a surge of over 50 percent from the 416,088 seen in the same month last year.

It should be noted that flights between China and Japan increased as the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday fell in January.

South Korea came into second place with 967,100 visitors, up 12.8 percent.

Taiwan ranked third with 593,400, a 20.5 percent jump, and Hong Kong in fourth with 243,700, up by 30.8 percent from 2024.

Australian traveller numbers rose by 35.3 percent to 140,200, while those from the United States rose by 38.4 percent to 182,500.

The strong growth in January comes as the number of foreign visitors to Japan soared 47.1 percent to a record 36.87 million in 2024, boosted by a weak yen and the resumption of flights to Japan after the removal of COVID-19 restrictions.

Despite growing concern about overtourism, the Japanese government retained its target of drawing in 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030.