Record-low 1,700 foreign visitors travel to Japan in May amid pandemic

Jun 18, 2020 | News On Japan

Jun 18, 2020 (Japan Times) - Japan received an estimated 1,700 foreign travelers in May, an all-time low for the second consecutive month, amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday.

The number, down 99.9 percent from a year earlier and compared with 2,900 in April, is the lowest since 1964, when the government began compiling such statistics, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

It is the eighth consecutive monthly decline, as travel restrictions were imposed globally amid the spread of the virus, according to the preliminary data.

With cases of coronavirus infections topping 8 million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University, it is set to be some time before travelers can return.

While Prime Minister Shinzo Abeâ€™s administration is considering partially easing entry restrictions, it is now focused on stimulating domestic tourism by Japanese residents through subsidies.

The number of visitors from China plunged to just 30 in May from 756,365 a year earlier, and those from South Korea totaled 20 against 603,394, the data showed.

Travelers from the United States dropped to 50 from 156,962 in May 2019, and those from India and France were 30 and 20, respectively.

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