In August, the number of foreign tourists in Japan exceeded 3.42 million, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%, mainly due to school holiday travel.

Mainland China accounted for the largest number of visitors at 1,018,600, up 36.5%. Other significant gains were seen from South Korea and Taiwan, while for the fourth straight month visitors from Hong Kong fell, affected by earthquake rumors. From January through August, total visitors from mainland China topped 6.71 million, representing a 46.1% increase.