Japan sees record 22 million visitors in first half of 2025
The surge in visitors has created various challenges for Japan, including overtourism.
TOKYO – Japan saw a record 21.5 million visitors in the first half of 2025, government data showed on July 16, with travel demand remaining strong even outside peak seasons.
Visitor numbers for the first six months of 2025 topped the previous record of 17.78 million set a year earlier, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation.
The number of visitors in June reached 3.38 million, up 7.6 per cent from a year earlier and the highest ever for the month.
By country and region, South Korea accounted for the highest number of visitors in the first half at 4.8 million, followed by China at 4.7 million and Taiwan at 3.3 million.
All markets exceeded their figures from the previous year, with China seeing a notable 53.5 per cent increase.
The surge in visitors has created various challenges for Japan,
including overtourism affecting the quality of life for locals in popular destinations.
Meanwhile, spending by foreign visitors in the April-June quarter totaled around 2.5 trillion yen (S$22 billion), up 18 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to estimates from the Japan Tourism Agency.
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Chinese visitors led spending, accounting for 20.4 per cent of the total at 516 billion yen, followed by Americans at 357 billion yen and Taiwanese at 292 billion yen.
Visitors to Japan spent around 239,000 yen per person on average, with Britons spending the most at around 444,000 yen, followed by Italians at 398,000 yen and Germans at 396,000 yen. KYODO NEWS
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