Foreign Visitors to Japan Down 5.0 Pct in Sept.

Tokyo, Oct. 21 (Jiji Press)--The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in September dropped 5.0 pct from a year earlier to 3,103,700, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.

The decline reflected rising airfares due to a deterioration in the situation in the Middle East and typhoon-caused flight cancellations.

The cumulative number of such visitors in the January-September period totaled 30,730,200, exceeding 30 million for the second consecutive year, although the figure was down 2.9 pct.

In September, the number of visitors from South Korea climbed 25.6 pct to 842,300, while those from Taiwan rose 13.0 pct to 595,600, both record highs for the month.

Meanwhile, the number of travelers from mainland China plunged 44.5 pct to 430,800, reflecting the Chinese government’s advisory against traveling to Japan, while those from the United States dropped 3.2 pct to 217,500.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]