Tourism Record number of foreign tourists visit Japan in August despite summer heat

[thomas]

Japan welcomed a record number of foreign visitors in August, even as the country endured its hottest summer on record. According to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, 3.43 million people arrived during the month, a 16.9% increase from a year earlier and the highest August figure ever. The pace of growth was the fastest in three months. Tourism has been booming since border restrictions were lifted after the pandemic, with the weak yen making Japan an attractive destination. Each month this year has set a new record for arrivals, despite average summer temperatures reaching unprecedented highs between June and August, the Meteorological Agency reported.

The recovery in August followed two months of slower growth, when declines in key markets weighed on overall numbers. Arrivals from Hong Kong, which had fallen sharply in June and July amid social media rumours of an imminent megaquake in Japan, were still down 8.3% but showed clear improvement. South Korean visitor numbers, which had dropped by over 10% in July, rose by 8% in August compared with last year. Chinese tourists continued to drive growth, with arrivals climbing 36.5% year on year to surpass one million in August. China has so far provided the largest share of visitors in 2025, totalling 6.7 million since January.

Revised government figures released last week showed Japan's economy grew at an annualised 2.2% in the April-to-June quarter from the previous three months, exceeding the 1.0% in the preliminary reading. Exports of goods and services, which include inbound visitor spending, rose 2.0% compared with the previous quarter, adding 0.5 percentage points to quarterly growth -- the most significant contributor.

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Foreign visitors to Japan hit August record despite summer heat

Monthly growth rate rebounds to double-digit after falling for three months

asia.nikkei.com

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More Chinese are visiting Japan as solo travelers, with around 1 in 4 traveling alone in the April-June period this year, a trend that could boost demand for more individually tailored experiences. The Japan Tourism Agency conducts a quarterly survey asking about tourists' demographics and whether they have traveling companions. The percentage of Chinese tourists who came to Japan alone was 23.5% for April-June, up from 22% in the previous quarter. That same figure for full-year 2019 was 12.2%, and 21.0% for 2024. The proportion of people who were visiting either with family or coworkers dropped. The share of solo travelers from China is higher than that from other regions. "Many Chinese solo travelers are women in their 20s to 40s," said a tourism industry source. Over 60% of all Chinese visitors in the April-June period were women. That ratio was 50% for all overseas travelers to the country.

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1 in 4 Chinese tourists to Japan are solo travelers

Total visitors from China surpass 1m in August, led by women

asia.nikkei.com