Article by: Rio Murakami

Inbound tourists recover, pace of 20 million One year after tourism acceptance resumes

One year has passed since the government resumed accepting foreign visitors to Japan for tourism purposes on the 10th. The number of visitors, which had plummeted due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, has recovered dramatically since last fall; the number of visitors to Japan in 2023, including those for business purposes, is expected to exceed 20 million annually. This is higher than the 19.74 million in 2015, when the number was increasing steadily. The focus will be on when Chinese tourists will make a full recovery, and there will be an urgent need to address "tourism pollution" such as traffic congestion.