Foreign visitors to Japan in 2022 up 15-fold to 3.83 mil.

The number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2022 sharply recovered and grew 15-fold from the previous year to 3.83 million after the easing of border controls imposed to counter the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday.

The number was still 88 percent lower than the record high of 31.88 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, the Japan Tourism Agency said.

A further recovery in the number of foreign arrivals will likely depend on the return of visitors from mainland China, which until earlier this month largely restricted overseas travel under its strict “zero-COVID” policy....