Jamaine Punzalan

Pedestrians stand on a bridge covered by cherry blossoms in Tokyo on March 24, 2021. Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP/File

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17688771482531768877146620.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pedestrians stand on a bridge covered by cherry blossoms in Tokyo on March 24, 2021. Kazuhiro Nogi, AFP/File<br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)" id="isPasted"/></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>A record number of tourists flocked to Japan last year, the transport ministry said Tuesday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on.</p><p>The country logged 42.7 million tourist arrivals in 2025, topping 2024&#x27;s record of nearly 37 million.</p><p>But the number of tourists from China last month dropped about 45 percent from a year earlier to around 330,000.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/11/17/japan-china-spat-over-taiwan-comments-sinks-tourism-stocks-1404">Japan-China spat over Taiwan comments sinks tourism stocks</a></div><p>Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi&#x27;s suggestion in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which then urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan.</p><p>China has been the biggest source of tourists to the Japanese archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 -- a quarter of all foreign tourists, according to official figures.</p><p>Attracted by a weak yen, they splashed out the equivalent of $3.7 billion in the third quarter.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/2/24/vacation-why-japan-is-a-good-choice-for-your-wallet-1438">Vacation? Why Japan is a good choice for your wallet</a></div><p>However, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said it was a &quot;significant achievement&quot; that overall visitors numbers had topped 40 million people for the first time.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/11/19/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-money-during-your-japan-trip-1235">How to get the most out of your money during your Japan trip</a></div><div><iframe width="729" height="410" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ffAQT2D-FmQ" title="Japan issues safety advisory to its citizens in China as tensions mount | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>A record number of tourists flocked to Japan last year, the transport ministry said Tuesday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on.</p>

A record number of tourists flocked to Japan last year, the transport ministry said Tuesday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on.

Record tourists to Japan, despite plunge in Chinese visitors

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Record tourists to Japan, despite plunge in Chinese visitors

Agence France-Presse

Published January 20, 2026 10:49 AM PHT

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Updated January 20, 2026 07:19 PM PHT

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