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Foreign Visitors to Japan Surpass 20 Million at Record Pace

TOKYO - Japan welcomed 21,518,100 foreign visitors in the first half of 2025, exceeding 20 million at the fastest pace ever, according to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on July 16th. The surge was driven by increased travel during the Chinese New Year holiday and cherry blossom season, resulting in a 21% year-on-year increase.

By country and region, South Korea ranked first with 4,783,500 visitors, a 7.7% rise from the previous year. China followed closely with 4,718,300 visitors, representing a sharp 50% increase.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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Hokkaido University's famous ginkgo avenue in Sapporo has reached its peak autumn color, attracting residents and tourists to the campus ahead of the two-day Hokudai Golden Leaf Festival on October 31 and November 1, an event that drew 35,000 visitors last year.

A spectacular illumination of the Hashigui Rocks, a nationally designated natural monument in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, is set to begin on October 30, transforming a series of unusual coastal rock formations into a colorful nighttime attraction.

Japan's first major cold spell of the season brought snow, freezing winds and record-low autumn temperatures across the country, with 639 observation points registering their coldest readings of the season on October 29, while forecasts issued that evening indicated that temperatures would recover on October 30 as rain spread across much of the country.

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Japan's first significant snowfall of the season has brought winter conditions to Hokkaido and northern Honshu, with snow depths exceeding 10 centimeters in several mountain and inland locations on October 28, while a fresh wave of cold air is expected to bring further snowfall over the weekend of October 31 and November 1.

Osaka's iconic Tsutenkaku Tower celebrated the 70th anniversary of its reopening on October 28, marking seven decades since the landmark was rebuilt in 1956 as a symbol of the city's postwar recovery, while new attractions continue to draw visitors to the surrounding Shinsekai entertainment district.

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck northeastern Chiba Prefecture at around 12:07 a.m. on October 29, registering a maximum intensity of 5-lower on Japan's seven-level seismic scale and sending tremors across a wide area of eastern and central Japan, including Narita Airport, where footage captured the moment of shaking.

Japan will introduce a major overhaul of its tax-free shopping system for foreign visitors on November 1, replacing immediate tax exemptions at stores with a refund system that requires travelers to pay the full consumption tax upfront and claim reimbursement when leaving the country, a change expected to reshape retail strategies and purchasing behavior across the tourism industry.