Overview
- Official data show total foreign arrivals in May were 3.56 million, a 3.6% decline from a year earlier and the second straight monthly fall.
- Visitors from China plunged 60.4% year on year to about 313,000, marking six consecutive months of declines that coverage links to worsening bilateral ties after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s November remarks.
- Gains from South Korea (951,300, up 15.2%), Taiwan (616,800, up 14.6%) and the United States (333,700, up 7.0%) partially offset the overall drop.
- Arrivals from the Middle East jumped 67.8% to 39,000, with the timing of Islamic holidays shifting more travel into May this year than in 2025.
- Airlines have raised fuel surcharges because of higher jet fuel prices and Japan’s tourism officials warn those surcharges plus flight disruptions make short-term demand hard to predict.