Foreign visitors to Japan at 22-year low in 2020 on coronavirus curbs

Published On: January 20, 2021 01:14 PM NPT By: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: The entrance gate to the normally crowded Kiyomizu temple, a favourite location among tourists, is pictured amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kyoto, Japan, July 21, 2020. Picture taken on July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Leika Kihara

TOKYO, Jan 20: The number of foreign visitors to Japan plunged 87% in 2020 to a 22-year low as the country mostly closed its borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan National Tourism Organization data showed on Wednesday.

The number of foreign arrivals, which include tourism and business arrivals, fell to about 4.1 million last year from 31.9 million in 2019. It was the lowest annual figure since 1998.