South Koreans flock to Japan as weak yen draws nearly 900,000 visitors in July

The number of South Korean tourists visiting Japan surged past 890,000 last month, posting a sharp year-on-year increase. A broader rise in visitors from South Korea, Taiwan and other parts of Asia pushed Japan's total foreign tourist arrivals in July to a record high.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, 894,700 South Koreans visited Japan last month, up 31.9 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Taiwanese visitors also hit an all-time monthly record, rising 26.4 percent to 763,800. Tourists from 17 other countries — including Indonesia and Mexico — also set July records for visits to Japan.

Driven by those gains, total foreign arrivals in Japan last month reached 3,442,100, up 0.1 percent from a year earlier and the highest figure ever recorded for July. It was the first time in four months that year-on-year foreign arrivals had returned to positive territory.

Chinese tourists, however, declined sharply. The number of Chinese visitors last month fell 56.1 percent year-on-year to 428,200, extending a streak of monthly declines to eight consecutive months.

The drop is widely attributed to a cooling of travel sentiment in China following remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November last year, in which she suggested Japan could intervene in a Taiwan contingency.

Meanwhile, the won-yen exchange rate fell to 887.84 won per 100 yen on Aug. 13 — the lowest level since July 23, 2024, when it stood at 884.1 won — down 0.56 won from the previous trading day.

With the yen's weakness showing no signs of reversing, demand for travel to Japan is expected to grow further. According to Incheon International Airport Corp., about 6.08 million passengers departed for Japan from January through July this year, up 13.3 percent from the same period last year.