Record High 42.7 Mil. Visitors Travel to Japan in 2025, Post COVID-19 Recovery Continues, Weak Yen Also Spurs Trips

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:36 JST, January 20, 2026

The government said Tuesday that the number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2025 reached the 40 million mark for the first time, breaking the previous record for the second consecutive year, thanks to recovering demand after the COVID-19 pandemic and the weak yen.

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a press conference that a record of about 42.7 million foreigners visited Japan in 2025, up 16% year-on-year.

The amount spent by tourists last year also hit a record high of about ¥9.5 trillion, up 17% year-on-year, marking a record high for the third consecutive year,

The number of visitors to Japan in 2025 was significantly influenced by the moves of Chinese travelers, who accounted for more than 20% of the total. The delayed recovery in the number of Chinese tourists after the pandemic gained momentum in the latter half of the year. Traveling to Japan was particularly popular among younger generations and families. The number of Chinese visitors was about 9.1 million, up 30%, year-on-year.

The weak yen has made accommodations and shopping in Japan more affordable, contributing to increased visits from China and other countries and regions.

The number of visitors from European nations, the United States and Australia rose by 22% to reach about 7.2 million.

However, the number of Chinese visitors began to decline in and after November as Beijing urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan because of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a possible Taiwan contingency. In December, the number of visitors from China to Japan was about 330,000, a 45% decrease on a year-on-year basis, falling below the previous year’s level for the first time in nearly four years.

The drop is raising concern about the impact on Japan’s tourism industry especially with the Lunar New Year holiday weekend approaching in February, a time during which Chinese holidaymakers are expected to significantly boost spending.

“We want to promote visits to Japan from various countries and regions,” Kaneko said. “We must also make efforts to ensure the return of visitors from China.”