TOKYO — Visitor arrivals to Japan increased 21.5% on the year to a new May record of 3,693,300, likely boosted by more flights from South Korea and China even as visitors from Hong Kong decreased on unfounded rumors of future disasters.
May’s tally, which headlined Japan National Tourism Organization data out Wednesday, was down from the single-month record of 3,908,900 arrivals in April. The cumulative total since January has reached about 18 million and is on pace to exceed 40 million visitors this year.
