Japan’s Immigration Services Agency reported on Friday, 24th January, that foreign arrivals hit a record high of 36.78 million in the past year.

The total is considerably higher than the pre-pandemic high of 31.19 million last seen at the end of 2019.

Authorities say that arrivals numbers rose due to the weakened yen, as well as an increase in international flight services following the relaxing of pandemic restrictions.

Of the 2024 total, 33.36 million came to Japan as tourists or on business, while around 170,000 were students on academic visas.

Other trends

Approximately 150,000 foreign individuals came into the country on technical internships, reflecting a decrease of 19 percent from 2023’s numbers.

Meanwhile, the number of foreign arrivals holding visas for specialised skilled workers rose by 48 percent to approximately 60,000.

South Koreans made up the majority of Japan’s foreign arrivals for 2024, numbering 8.63 million.

Taiwan came in second with 5.69 million, Mainland China in third at 5.49 million, and the United States in fourth with 2.67 million.