Sawt Falasteen - Tourists hit record in Japan, despite plunge from China

The country logged 42.7 million tourist arrivals in 2025, according to the transport ministry, topping 2024's record of nearly 37 million as the weak yen boosted the appeal of the "bucket list" destination.

However, the number of tourists from China last month dropped about 45 percent from a year earlier to around 330,000.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which then urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan.

Tuesday's announcement showed the warning has had an impact on visitor numbers.

China has been the biggest source of tourists to the Japanese archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 -- a quarter of all foreign tourists, according to official figures.

Attracted by a weak yen, they splashed out the equivalent of $3.7 billion in the third quarter.

Each Chinese tourist spent on average 22 percent more than other visitors last year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).

However, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said it was a "significant achievement" that overall visitors numbers had topped 40 million people for the first time.

"While the number of Chinese tourists in December decreased, we attracted a sufficient number of people from many other countries and regions to offset that," he said.

"We also hope and want to make sure that Chinese visitors will return to us as soon as possible."

The overall increase is partly thanks to government policies to promote attractions from Mount Fuji's majestic slopes to shrines and sushi bars in more far-flung parts of the archipelago.

The government has set an ambitious target of reaching 60 million tourists annually by 2030.

But authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, as complaints of overcrowding in hotspots like Kyoto grow.

As in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in the ancient capital.

The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples.

Locals have complained of disrespectful tourists harassing the geisha in a frenzy for photos, as well as causing traffic congestion and littering.

Elsewhere, exasperated officials have taken steps to improve visitors, including introducing an entry fee and a daily cap on the number of hikers climbing Mount Fuji.

A barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store in 2024 to stop people standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral.

H.Darwish--SF-PST