Japan's National Tourism Organization (JNTO) released preliminary data on September 16 showing that foreign visitor arrivals to Japan in August totaled 3,098,900, a decrease of 9.6% compared with the same period last year and the first year-on-year decline in a month. In addition to the continued sharp drop in visitors from the Chinese mainland due to deteriorating Japan-China relations, JNTO also noted that flight cancellations caused by typhoons had an impact.

The Japan Tourism Agency stated that rising airline fuel surcharges were also a factor behind the decline in visitors. Worsening conditions in the Middle East drove up fuel prices, pushing fuel surcharges on tickets issued by All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines in July and August to record highs.

By country and region, South Korea accounted for the largest number of visitors at 850,500, up 28.7%. Affected by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks concerning Taiwan, the Chinese mainland saw 418,000 visitors, a sharp decline of 59.0%, marking nine consecutive months of year-on-year decreases.

On the other hand, Hong Kong, China recorded 247,300 visitors, up 9.4%; the United States recorded 197,400, up 1.5%; and Italy recorded 47,300, up 15.1%.

From January to August, cumulative foreign visitor arrivals to Japan totaled 27,626,300, a decrease of 2.7% compared with the same period last year.

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Congxiao

Editor Ⅱ: Zhang Wenwen

Editor Ⅲ: Pan Kaiyue