Tokyo

The estimated number of visitors to Japan in October was down 5.5 pct from a year before at 2,496,600, marking the steepest fall since the 19.6 pct drop in February 2012, about a year after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which mainly hit northeastern Japan, and the subsequent severe nuclear accident, Japan National Tourism Organization data showed Wednesday.

The October drop chiefly came as the number of South Korean visitors plummeted 65.5 pct to 197,300 amid the deteriorating relationship between Tokyo and Seoul over wartime labor and other issues, according to the preliminary report.

The decline also reflected powerful Typhoon Hagibis, which mainly hit central and eastern Japan in mid-October and caused a number of flight cancellations.

The Japan-hosted Rugby World Cup, which brought many foreign visitors to the country, was unable to offset the negative factors.

Visitors from mainland China increased by a scant 2.1 pct to 730,600, following the 25.5 pct growth in September. Growth also slowed for visitors from Taiwan and Hong Kong, affected by flight cancellations caused by the typhoon.

"Some foreigners postponed their trips (to Japan)," Japan Tourism Agency chief Hiroshi Tabata said, while indicating that the drop caused by the typhoon will prove a temporary phenomenon.

The combined number of visitors from countries and regions that participated in the Rugby World Cup, such as Australia, in September and October jumped 29.4 pct. The event was held between late September and early November.

The number of visitors to Japan in the first 10 months of this year came to 26,914,400, up 3.1 pct year on year, the JNTO said.

The number for the whole of 2019 is expected to top 30 million for the second straight year. But the decelerated growth in October could be a source of concern for the Japanese government, which aims to increase foreign visitors to 40 million in 2020, analysts said.

[Jiji Press]