Foreign visitors to Japan at record high for May
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in May jumped 21.5% from a year before to 3,693,300, a record high for the month, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.
The cumulative number of visitors from abroad in the first five months of 2025 came to a record 18,140,100, beating the previous record of 14,641,780 marked in the same period last year.
The increase in visitors during May was driven by travelers from China, Taiwan and the United States, who visited Japan for holidays and on cruise ship port calls.
The number of visitors from Hong Kong dropped 11.2% to 193,100 after rumors spread on social media that an earthquake might strike Japan.
By country or region, the number of visitors from South Korea was the largest, at 825,800, up 11.8%; followed by 789,900 from mainland China, up 44.8%; 538,400 from Taiwan, up 15.5%; and 311,900 from the United States, up 26.3%.
The number "fell only in Hong Kong," Naoya Haraikawa, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, said at a news conference.
Haraikawa said that JNTO's Hong Kong office is already calling on people via social media to make travel decisions based on scientific information from public institutions. He said that JNTO will strengthen information-sharing efforts if necessary.
The estimated number of Japanese nationals traveling overseas rose 14.3% to 1,076,800 in May, reflecting a spike in travelers during a holiday period from late April to early May.
But Japanese visitors to Thailand continued to decrease following a major earthquake in Myanmar in late March.
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