Inbound tourism during the first half of the year dipped 2 percent to 21.1 million visitors, reflecting the Chinese government‛s stance against trips to Japan following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi‛s remarks on a Taiwan contingency.

The Japan National Tourism Organization‛s announcement on July 15 marks the first decline in five years for arrivals during the first half of the year. The last drop was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

By country and region, China accounted for 2.06 million visitors, down 56.4 percent from last year. In June alone, arrivals from China fell 57.3 percent amid frosty government relations.

Conversely, the weak yen supported a boost in other demographics. South Korea topped the ranking with 5.68 million visiting, a 18.6-percent increase.

Taiwan followed with 3.97 million, up 20.9 percent, while 1.82 million flew in from the United States, up 7.1 percent.

Japan‛s current target is to log 60 million foreign tourists by 2030. A cumulative 42.68 million visited in 2025.

The Japan Tourism Agency on July 15 also released travel spending data for April to June.

While spending by Chinese visitors fell 48.8 percent, enthusiasm from other demographics bumped total spending up 0.2 percent from 2025 to a record 2.51 trillion yen ($15.5 billion).