The Japanese government resumed the admission of foreign tourists visiting Japan for tourism purposes for 10 years. The number of foreign visitors to Japan is expected to exceed 20 million for the whole year of 2023, including business purposes, and the number of foreign visitors to Japan continued to increase in 2015, reaching 19.74 million, and is expected to exceed that level this year. The period of the official return of Chinese tourists will become the focus of attention in the future, and it is also a priority to deal with traffic jams and other “tourist hazards.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan rebounded to 1.37 million in December and totaled 6.74 million from January to April this year, reaching 61% of the same period in 2019.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan from January to April 2019, in terms of countries and regions, mainland China topped the list, accounting for 26% of the whole, but this year only 4%, showing a trend of Southeast Asian countries and the United States filling in. The Chinese government’s restrictions on group tours to Japan are having an impact, and the Japanese government is stepping up its appeal to China in order to lift the restrictions and smooth exchanges as soon as possible.
With the change of the status of the new crown in the Infectious Diseases Act to “Category 5”, the border crossing measures ended in late April. It is expected that the number of tourists visiting Japan will increase further in the future. The government revised the “Basic Plan for the Promotion of Tourism in Japan” in March. In it, the goal is to set a new record for the highest number of foreign visitors to Japan (31.88 million) in 2019 by 2025.
However, the crowded situation of scenic spots has been very striking. Before the New Crown epidemic, tourists visiting Japan were concentrated in major cities and some scenic spots, where traffic jams, littering and rule violations occurred, creating friction with local residents. The government intends to work to focus on the sustainability of scenic spots.
The tourism and accommodation industries are experiencing serious manpower shortages due to the decreasing number of employees during the New Crown, and hiring new employees and improving business efficiency are also issues.