Japan received 3.44mn foreign visitors in July, a record for the month and a 0.1% rise on a year earlier, according to government estimates released on August 19.
The marginal gain returns Japan to growth after three consecutive months of year-on-year declines. Arrivals in the first half came in at 21.08mn, down 2.0% on the same period of 2025.
South Korea was the largest source market at 894,700 visitors, up 31.9%. Taiwan followed with 763,800, up 26.4% and a record for the month, the Japan National Tourism Organisation said.
Chinese arrivals fell 56.1% to 428,200, extending a slide that began in late 2025 as relations between Tokyo and Beijing deteriorated. China was Japan’s largest inbound market before the dispute.
Seventeen markets set July records, among them South Korea, Indonesia and Mexico. Part of the Korean and Hong Kong growth reflects a weak base, after a rumour circulating in July 2025 that a major natural disaster would strike Japan that month suppressed bookings from both markets.
Japan Tourism Agency commissioner Norio Kimura said the source mix was becoming more diversified and that spending on accommodation and other categories was rising, indicating inbound demand would hold broadly steady.
Costs for visitors have risen sharply through the year. The national departure tax tripled to JPY3,000 ($18) on July 1, Kyoto raised its accommodation tax to as much as JPY10,000 a night in March, and visa fees increased several times over. The yen has traded near JPY162 to the dollar, close to 40-year lows, which continues to offset those increases for most inbound markets, IntelliNews previously reported.
Pressure on host communities is also building. Complaints about private lodging properties used by visitors have increased, centring on noise and improper disposal of rubbish. Kimura said the agency would work to ensure such properties were run correctly and did not damage the living environment of local residents.