hankyoreh

South Korean tourism to Japan for the month of August fell by nearly half compared to the same period for last year. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), 38,700 South Koreans visited Japan in August 2019, a decrease of 48% from the same the same month last year. The total number of tourists visiting Japan this year (2,520,100) as of August decreased by 2.2% compared to last year. While the number of Chinese tourists increased by 16.3% compared to last year, it’s still not enough to compensate for the plunge in South Korean tourists. This year marks the first time that the number of tourists visiting Japan has decreased from the previous year since the Fukushima disaster of 2011. The photo shows the town of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, once a popular spot for South Korean tourists.