Japan sees 3.78 mln foreign visitors in January

Japan saw 3.78 million foreign tourists in January, the highest monthly total ever recorded, data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) showed Wednesday.

A key driver of the growth was a sharp rise in tourists from Chinese mainland during the Lunar New Year, whose numbers more than doubled year-on-year to 980,300 for the month.

The United States and several European nations also reported record-breaking January visitor numbers.

According to JNTO, factors such as a recent airline accident in South Korea and concerns over safety in other Asian destinations may have influenced Chinese travelers to choose Japan.

The Japanese government has set a target of attracting 60 million annual visitors and 15 trillion yen in spending by 2030. (1 U.S. dollar equals 151 yen).

xinhua