Number of Visitors to Japan Top 10 M. at Fastest Pace

May 18, 2018

Tokyo- The number of visitors to Japan since the start of the year surpassed the 10-million mark on April 25, earlier than in any year in the past, the Tourism Agency said Thursday.

Last year, the year-to-date figure topped the threshold on May 13, the agency said.

The number of foreign visitors is estimated to have totaled 10,519,300 in the four months through April, up 15.4 pct from a year earlier, the Japan National Tourism Organization said the same day.

Besides visitors from other parts of Asia, such as China and South Korea, American and European tourist numbers went up on the back of flight increases, the organization said.

In April alone, the number of foreign visitors rose 12.5 pct to 2,900700, hitting a record high for any month. The previous record of 2,681,518 was set in July last year.

"The rise reflected the growing popularity overseas of cherry blossoms and other attractions of the spring in Japan," Tourism Agency chief Akihiko Tamura said. Jiji Press