Chinese Visitors to Japan Rise 25.5% in July to 974,500

Overview

On August 20, 2025, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) released its preliminary estimate of visitor arrivals for July 2025. A total of 3,437,000 international visitors came to Japan in July, up 4.4% from a year earlier and more than 140,000 above the previous July record of 3,292,602 set in 2024. Visitors from China numbered 974,500, up 25.5% from 776,520 a year earlier, making China the largest source market for the month. For January to July, arrivals from China reached 5,692,900, up 47.9% year on year, the highest of any country or region.

Background

Travel from China to Japan, which fell sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to recover since. In its release, JNTO said demand for travel to Japan rose in many markets in July, particularly in East Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and the Middle East, as travelers timed trips to school summer holidays; in East Asia, China and Taiwan were the main contributors to growth. Air links between Shenzhen and Japan have also been expanding. According to media reports, Hainan Airlines launched a Shenzhen-Osaka route on January 7, 2025, while China Southern Airlines planned to resume its Shenzhen-Tokyo Narita service from February 11 with three flights a week.

Key Points

Market	July 2025	YoY	Jan-Jul 2025	YoY
Total	3,437,000	+4.4%	24,955,400	+18.4%
China	974,500	+25.5%	5,692,900	+47.9%
South Korea	678,600	-10.4%	5,462,100	+5.0%
Taiwan	604,200	+5.7%	3,888,900	+9.5%
Hong Kong	176,000	-36.9%	1,447,100	-6.9%

• Taiwan set an all-time single-month record.
• Fifteen markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam, India, the United States and France, set records for the month of July.
• Japanese outbound travelers totaled 1,205,500 in July, up 14.9%, and 7,814,500 for January to July, up 14.1%.

In July, arrivals from China exceeded those from South Korea, usually one of Japan's largest markets, by about 296,000. South Korea declined 10.4% in the month but remained the second-largest market on a cumulative basis, while arrivals from Hong Kong fell 36.9% in July. Over the first seven months, China alone accounted for roughly 23% of all visitors to Japan, underlining the weight of the Chinese market in Japan's inbound tourism.

Visitor arrivals are calculated by JNTO from Ministry of Justice immigration statistics. They exclude permanent residents and others whose main residence is in Japan, but include expatriates and their families and international students. Figures for 2025 are estimates.

Implications for Japan-Shenzhen Exchange

China's emergence as the largest source market so far this year suggests that Chinese travelers are once again a major presence for Japan's tourism, retail and restaurant industries. South China, including Shenzhen, is home to cities with relatively high income levels, and together with expanding air links, attention is turning to opportunities to attract visitors to different regions of Japan and to introduce local specialty products. At the same time, the number of Japanese traveling abroad is also above last year's level, and some observers see growing two-way travel as underpinning exchange in business, culture and education. More travel in both directions is also likely to give Shenzhen companies more chances to understand the Japanese market and Japanese companies more chances to observe Shenzhen's consumers and technology trends firsthand.

Outlook

JNTO says it will pursue strategic promotion based on close analysis of market trends, in line with the goals of Japan's tourism promotion plan: sustainable tourism, higher visitor spending and more visits to regional areas. Future arrivals from China are expected to depend on factors such as flight capacity and travel demand, and statistics for August and beyond will be closely watched. Whether the strong growth from China seen in the first seven months continues through the second half of the year remains an open question.

From the Association

The movement of people is the most basic foundation of exchange between Shenzhen and Japan. The Association will continue to follow developments in two-way travel and to help create opportunities for people and companies in both places to get to know each other.