TOKYO: The number of foreign visitors to Japan in January is estimated at 2,688,100, nearing the record high of 2,689,339 for the month, set in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, a Japan National Tourism Organization report showed on Wednesday.

The January visitor figure surged 79.5 pct from a year before as the number of visitors from South Korea and Taiwan each hit a record high while those from the United States and the Philippines also increased.

Although the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in central Japan led to the cancellation of some trips to Japan, mainly from East Asia, its impact was apparently limited.

Since last autumn, the monthly number of foreign visitors to Japan has remained steady, largely returning to levels before the pandemic.

Of the January total, 415,900 visitors were from mainland China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau. Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors accounted for about 30 pct of all foreign visitors.

The number of Chinese visitors in January was 55.1 pct of the level in the same month of 2019. The rate was up from 44 pct in the previous month, partly thanks to an increase in flights between regional areas in Japan and China.

JIJI Press