Sino-Japanese relations remain frosty amid ongoing territorial tensions and in the wake of China’s massive military parade lauding Japan’s World War II defeat. But Chinese tourists are flocking to the Land of the Rising Sun in unprecedented numbers, according to newly-released data.
China has surpassed South Korea to become the largest source of foreign tourists to Japan, according to recent data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
About 4.3 million mainland Chinese tourists visited Japan from January to October this year, comprising about 25% of all tourists to Japan during that period, the agency said. The figure is double the number of tourists who visited during the January-to-October period last year.