Travel

Foreign Visitors to Japan Rebound to Over 80% of Pre-Pandemic Levels, Reaching Nearly 25.83 Million Last Year

TOKYO, Jan 26 (News On Japan) - Over 25 million foreigners entered Japan in the past year, recovering over 80% of visitor traffic before the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the preliminary figures released by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the number of foreign nationals who entered Japan last year was about 25.83 million, an increase of 21.63 million or 515% compared to the previous year.

The number of foreign entries had significantly declined due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but last year it recovered to over 80% of the record high of 31.19 million people in 2019. Of these, approximately 23.75 million were new entries, with South Korea being the top country of origin with 6.81 million people, followed by Taiwan with 4.07 million.

In terms of status of residence, short-term stays for tourism accounted for the most with 23.13 million people, followed by technical intern trainees at 180,000 and students at 140,000.

by Brian Dentry

Source: NHK

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