The number of foreign visitors to Japan soared 79.5 percent in January from a year earlier to about 2.69 million, reaching the level seen in the same month in 2019 before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, government data show.
The number of foreign visitor arrivals in Japan in 11 months from January totaled 22,332,000, topping 20 million in a calendar year for the first time since 2019, government data showed Wednesday, a fresh sign of the tourism boom's resurgence in the country following the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan sees an estimated 2,184,300 foreign visitors in September, representing 96.1 percent of the figure for the same month in 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak, government data shows.
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in January increased by some 130,000 from the previous month to almost 1.5 million entries, government data showed on Feb. 15, thanks to a boost from the Lunar New Year holiday and eased coronavirus measures for many countries.
The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in November increased 1.9-fold from the previous month to 934,500, government data showed on Dec. 21, as the country removed almost all COVID-19 entry restrictions in October.