TOKYO (Jan 20): Tourists to Japan hit a record high for the month of December despite the number of visitors from China plunging 45% due to diplomatic tensions between the two Asian neighbours. Tourists from China fell to about 330,000 people in December, making up less than 10% of the 3.6 million visitors to Japan for the month. In the year to end-November, mainland Chinese tourists had made up the largest cohort of visitors to Japan, accounting for around a quarter of the total. For all of 2025, tourist numbers to Japan hit a record 42.7 million people, exceeding 40 million for the first time, Japan's tourism minister, Yasushi Kaneko, told a press conference. Total spending by inbound tourists reached ¥9.5 trillion (US$60 billion or RM240 billion) over the year, also a record high.

Source: The Edge Markets January 20, 2026 03:53 UTC