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Economic Times
22-05-2025
- Economic Times
Japan tourism hits record high in April as 3.9 million visitors drive 28.5% surge
The number of foreign visitors to Japan soared 28.5 percent in April year-on-year to a record 3.91 million, official figures showed Wednesday. "Spring cherry blossom season boosted demand for visits to Japan in many markets, as in the previous month, and overseas travel demand increased in some Asian countries, in Europe, the US and Australia to coincide with the Easter holidays," the Japan National Tourism Organization said. It said the total surpassed the previous record of 3.78 million in January 2025 and was the highest single month on record, and the first single month to exceed 3.9 million the first four months of the year the total was 14.4 million, a rise of 24.5 percent. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) A weak yen has for months been leading to a boom in visitors, with national tourism figures released in January showing a record of about 36.8 million arrivals last year. The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn as in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in destinations such as the ancient capital of tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples. On Mount Fuji, the nation's highest mountain and a once-peaceful pilgrimage site, authorities have started charging climbers in an effort to reduce year a barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store to stop people standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone travellers in cities including Tokyo have complained that they have been priced out of hotels because of high demand from gobbling sushi and onigiri have also been cited as a factor in shortages of rice, which has pushed the price of the staple to record levels, creating a political headache for the year the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) on March 30 declared the country's most common and popular "somei yoshino" variety of cherry tree in full bloom in this year's blooming dates are around the average, the JMA says climate change and the urban heat-island effect are causing sakura to flower approximately 1.2 days earlier every 10 years. Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University, estimated the economic impact of cherry blossom season in Japan, from travel to parties held under the flowers, at 1.1 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) this year, up from 616 billion yen in 2023.
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Straits Times
Japan tourists soared 28.5% in April to record 3.9 million
The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030. PHOTO: AFP TOKYO - The number of foreign visitors to Japan soared 28.5 per cent in April year-on-year to a record 3.91 million, official figures showed on May 21. 'Spring cherry blossom season boosted demand for visits to Japan in many markets, as in the previous month, and overseas travel demand increased in some Asian countries, in Europe, the US and Australia to coincide with the Easter holidays,' the Japan National Tourism Organisation said. It said the total surpassed the previous record of 3.78 million in January 2025 and was the highest single month on record, and the first single month to exceed 3.9 million visitors. For the first four months of the year the total was 14.4 million, a rise of 24.5 per cent. A weak yen has for months been leading to a boom in visitors, with national tourism figures released in January showing a record of about 36.8 million arrivals in 2024. The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030. Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colours. But as in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in destinations such as the ancient capital of Kyoto. The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples. On Mount Fuji, the nation's highest mountain and a once-peaceful pilgrimage site, authorities have started charging climbers in an effort to reduce overcrowding. In 2024, a barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store to stop people standing on the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral. Business travellers in cities including Tokyo have complained that they have been priced out of hotels because of high demand from tourists. Tourists gobbling sushi and onigiri have also been cited as a factor in shortages of rice, which has pushed the price of the staple to record levels, creating a political headache for the government. The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) on March 30 declared the country's most common and popular 'somei yoshino' variety of cherry tree in full bloom in Tokyo. Although the blooming dates in 2025 are around the average, the JMA says climate change and the urban heat-island effect are causing sakura to flower approximately 1.2 days earlier every 10 years. Mr Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University, estimated the economic impact of cherry blossom season in Japan – from travel to parties held under the flowers – at 1.1 trillion yen (S$9.91 billion) in 2025, up from 616 billion yen in 2023. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Japan Today
21-05-2025
- Japan Today
Number of tourists to tourists soars 28.5% in April to record 3.9 mil
The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030 By Natsuko FUKUE The number of foreign visitors to Japan soared 28.5 percent in April year-on-year to a record 3.91 million, official figures showed Wednesday. "Spring cherry blossom season boosted demand for visits to Japan in many markets, as in the previous month, and overseas travel demand increased in some Asian countries, in Europe, the U.S. and Australia to coincide with the Easter holidays," the Japan National Tourism Organization said. It said the total surpassed the previous record of 3.78 million in January 2025 and was the highest single month on record, and the first single month to exceed 3.9 million visitors. For the first four months of the year the total was 14.4 million, a rise of 24.5 percent. A weak yen has for months been leading to a boom in visitors, with national tourism figures released in January showing a record of about 36.8 million arrivals last year. The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030. Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colors. But as in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in destinations such as the ancient capital of Kyoto. The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples. On Mount Fuji, the nation's highest mountain and a once-peaceful pilgrimage site, authorities have started charging climbers in an effort to reduce overcrowding. Last year a barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store to stop people standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral. Business travelers in cities including Tokyo have complained that they have been priced out of hotels because of high demand from tourists. Tourists gobbling sushi and onigiri have also been cited as a factor in shortages of rice, which has pushed the price of the staple to record levels, creating a political headache for the government. This year the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) on March 30 declared the country's most common and popular somei yoshino variety of cherry tree in full bloom in Tokyo. Although this year's blooming dates are around the average, the JMA says climate change and the urban heat-island effect are causing sakura to flower approximately 1.2 days earlier every 10 years. Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University, estimated the economic impact of cherry blossom season in Japan, from travel to parties held under the flowers, at 1.1 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) this year, up from 616 billion yen in 2023. © 2025 AFP
Business Times
21-05-2025
- Business Times
Japan tourists soared 28.5% in April to record 3.9 million
[TOKYO] The number of foreign visitors to Japan soared 28.5 per cent in April year-on-year to a record 3.91 million, official figures showed on Wednesday (May 21). 'Spring cherry blossom season boosted demand for visits to Japan in many markets, as in the previous month, and overseas travel demand increased in some Asian countries, in Europe, the US and Australia to coincide with the Easter holidays,' the Japan National Tourism Organization said. It said the total surpassed the previous record of 3.78 million in January 2025 and was the highest single month on record, and the first single month to exceed 3.9 million visitors. For the first four months of the year, the total was 14.4 million, a rise of 24.5 per cent. A weak yen has for months been leading to a boom in visitors, with national tourism figures released in January showing a record of about 36.8 million arrivals last year. The Japanese government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colours. But as in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in destinations such as the ancient capital of Kyoto. The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples. On Mount Fuji, the nation's highest mountain and a once-peaceful pilgrimage site, authorities have started charging climbers in an effort to reduce overcrowding. Last year a barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store to stop people standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow-capped volcano that had gone viral. Business travellers in cities including Tokyo have complained that they have been priced out of hotels because of high demand from tourists. Tourists gobbling sushi and onigiri have also been cited as a factor in shortages of rice, which has pushed the price of the staple to record levels, creating a political headache for the government. This year the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) on March 30 declared the country's most common and popular 'somei yoshino' variety of cherry tree in full bloom in Tokyo. Although this year's blooming dates are around the average, the JMA says climate change and the urban heat-island effect are causing sakura to flower approximately 1.2 days earlier every 10 years. Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University, estimated the economic impact of cherry blossom season in Japan, from travel to parties held under the flowers, at 1.1 trillion yen (S$9.85 billion) this year, up from 616 billion yen in 2023. AFP
Japan Times
26-03-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan
This year's cherry blossom season, which began in Tokyo on Monday, is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion ($9 billion) on Japan — the highest in the country's history. The estimated impact is a 22.2% increase from last year's ¥1.14 trillion, according to an annual report compiled by economist Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor emeritus at Kansai University. The weak yen continues to beckon record numbers of tourists to the country, especially during hanami (cherry blossom viewing) season. Last year, Japan saw a record of nearly 37 million visitors , according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Miyamoto expects more than a quarter of hanami-goers to be foreign tourists, which would be the highest percentage of such visitors for the seasonal event in the nation's history. Domestic interest in hanami this year is expected to be high as well, following the trend from last year. In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic impact of hanami stood at ¥181.5 billion, with 97.5% of the hanami-goers being locals. The combined increase in both foreign and domestic hanami-goers this year would significantly drive up the money generated through activities such as purchasing food, drinks and souvenirs, as well as transportation costs. Residents in Japan spend an average of ¥7,119 per person on hanami. To put things into perspective, the nationwide economic impact of this year's hanami season would be 10 times that of baseball star Shohei Ohtani's ¥132.8 billion economic impact from last season. This year's cherry blossom season began five days earlier than last year, with sakura trees projected to be in full bloom in Tokyo on Saturday and last until mid-April.
