Photo/Illutration Only a few travelers are seen in the international terminal at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 15. (Yosuke Fukudome)

Japan recorded its largest drop in foreign tourists ever in March following its imposition of expanded entry restrictions to contain the new coronavirus.

Foreign visitors plummeted 93 percent from a year earlier, to just 193,700, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) announced April 15.

That tops even the more than 62 percent plunge in April 2011 immediately following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. It is the largest drop since January 1964 when inbound tourism statistics started being logged.

Japan imposed entry restrictions on parts of China and South Korea in February to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, and later expanded them to cover both nations entirely from March 9.

In 2019, most foreign tourists to Japan came from China, but only 10,400 Chinese tourists arrived in March, down more than 98 percent from the year before.

South Korea had the second largest number of visitors to Japan last year, but just 16,700 arrived in March, a 97 percent drop.

From March 21, Japan extended entry restrictions to almost all of Europe.

The spread of the coronavirus in many European nations led to lockdowns and strict travel restrictions.

In March, only 6,800 visitors came from Britain, down 82.4 percent from 2019. Britain normally accounts for the largest number of visitors to Japan among European nations.

Visitors from France and Germany declined more than 70 percent.

On March 26, the government widened entry restrictions to include the United States. 

The number of American tourists to Japan fell 87 percent in the month.

The only foreigners who can now enter Japan are those with long-term visas, JTA officials said. 

“First of all, every effort must be made to bring the coronavirus under control as soon as possible," JTA Commissioner Hiroshi Tabata said at a news conference on April 15. "But I believe the picture in April will continue to be grim.”

The government's emergency economic package includes a 1.3 trillion yen ($12 billion) measure to help the tourism industry and include handing out travel vouchers. But it will only be implemented after coronavirus infections are brought under control.

Few companies in the tourism sector have welcomed the move since no one knows when the virus will be brought under control.

“We'd like to be optimistic about the package, but we're in no position to think about any major improvement in business,” said a representative of an inn located in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The dearth in foreign visitors has forced the inn to close its doors since February and it has no reservations for the upcoming Golden Week series of national holidays.

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