Visitors to Japan hit annual record high

This year's cumulative number of foreign visitors to Japan stood at 13,424,000 as of last Thursday, already hitting an annual record high, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Akihiko Tamura said Wednesday.The previous all-time high was some 13,413,000 in 2014. The total number of visitors from abroad may reach 19 million this year, Tamura said at a press conference.

In particular, visitors from Asia, including China, has been increasing markedly on the back of the weaker yen and eased visa requirements. The Japanese government is aiming to boost the annual number of foreign visitors to 20 million by 2020. According to data released by the Japan National Tourism Agency on Wednesday, the number of visitors to Japan in January-August jumped 49.1 pct year on year to 12,875,400.