Foreign visitors to Japan fell 2% to 21.08 million in the first half of 2026, marking the first decline for the period in five years, as a sharp drop in Chinese travelers offset gains from other markets.
Arrivals from mainland China plunged 56.4% to roughly 2.06 million, following remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on a Taiwan contingency in November 2025. Visitors from South Korea rose 18.6% to 5.68 million, while arrivals from Taiwan climbed 20.9% to 3.97 million.
Despite the headcount decline, spending per traveler rose 3.3% to 244,457 yen, keeping second-quarter tourism expenditure virtually flat at 2.51 trillion yen. Japan maintains a target of 60 million annual visitors by 2030.