Japanese exporters aren't the only ones who are happy about a weaker yen. The domestic tourism industry has also gotten a boost. Officials at the Justice Ministry say a record number of foreigners visited Japan last year. The number topped 10 million for the first time.
Officials say a total of 11.25 million foreigners entered the country in 2013. That's a 22.7 percent rise from the year before and the highest figure since the ministry began collecting the data in 1950.
South Koreans were the largest group of visitors at more than 2.3 million. Taiwanese were next at about 2.2 million, and the number of mainland Chinese visitors was actually down nearly 6.5 percent from 2012. Officials attribute that to the worsening of bilateral relations over the Senkaku Islands as well as other issues.
The number of visitors from Thailand jumped 77 percent to more than 440,000. Thais have become the sixth largest group of foreigners to visit Japan. Travelers from Malaysia increased by 38 percent. Malaysians now are the 10th largest group of visitors. These numbers got a lift in July after Japanese officials waived visa requirements for citizens of Thailand and Malaysia.
◆boost 増加、押し上げること
◆top 上回る
◆worsening 悪化すること
◆bilateral 二者間の、二国間の
◆waived 放棄する、差し控える
