December Record Drives Japan Tourist Arrivals to New Annual High
2026-01-21 02:07
By
Farida Husna
1 min. read
Japan logged its highest-ever December tourist arrivals at 3.6 million in 2025, pushing total arrivals for the year to a historic 42.7 million and above the 40-million mark for the first time.
The strong headline figures came despite a sharp 45% plunge in visitors from China in the final month of last year, reflecting heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Arrivals from China fell to around 330,000, accounting for less than 10% of total visitors in December.
Until recently, Chinese tourists had been Japan’s largest source market, making up roughly a quarter of all arrivals in the year through end-November.