Foreign Visitors to Japan Spend Over 8 Trillion Yen for 1st Time

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
People visit Kaminarimon gate at Sensoji temple in Tokyo.

Spending by foreign visitors to Japan exceeded 8 trillion yen for the first time in 2024, reaching 8.1395 trillion yen, according to preliminary statistics released by the Japanese Tourism Agency on Wednesday.

The figure was up by 69.1% from 2019. Boosted by a weaker yen, there have been more visitors from Europe and the United States, who tend to stay for a longer period than other foreign visitors, and this has pushed up the amount of the spending by foreign visitors.

The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan also hit a record high in 2024, rising to 36,869,900, up 15.6% from 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Japan saw an estimated 3,489,800 visitors in December, exceeding 3.4 million in a single month for the first time.