Photo/Illutration Shibuya’s scramble crossing in Tokyo, an iconic tourist destination, on Dec. 18 (Shota Tomonaga)

A record-breaking 33,379,900 foreign tourists visited Japan between January and November of 2024, with more than 35 million expected by the end of the year.

The Japan National Tourism Organization released these figures on Dec. 18.

The previous record for the annual number had been 31,882,000 visitors in 2019.

The central government had aimed to exceed 2019’s number of foreign visitors to Japan by 2025, but appears to have achieved its goal one year ahead of schedule.

The central government has also set a goal of increasing the number of foreign tourists to 60 million by 2030.

This November alone, 3,187,000 foreign tourists visited Japan, the highest number in 10 consecutive months.

Demand for travel to Japan has increased due to the depreciation of the yen combined with the increase in direct flights and regional routes.

The number of visitors from North America, Australia, India and other countries has already reached a new annual record.

The number of visitors from China, which had been slow to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to 70 percent of its 2019 level in November.

While South Korea, China, and Taiwan have the largest number of visitors to Japan, the number of visitors from countries outside East Asia has increased compared to 2019.

In particular, the number of visitors from Mexico has doubled since 2019.

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