Jan 20 (NHK) - The number of foreign visitors to Japan fell by 94 percent in 2021 compared with a year earlier as entry restrictions remained in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials at the Japan National Tourism Organization estimate the country only admitted about 246,000 visitors last year. That compares with 32 million foreign travelers in 2019 before the pandemic.
The largest group was visitors from mainland China at 42,300. That was followed by arrivals from Vietnam with 26,500 and the United States with 20,000.
The start of the Tokyo Olympics saw a brief spike in numbers. However, they fell nearly 80 percent year-on-year in December, as border controls were tightened due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
