The number of South Korean visitors to Japan tumbled 48.0 percent in August from a year earlier, to 308,700, government data showed Wednesday, amid escalating tensions between the two neighbors over wartime history and trade policy.
The estimated number of visitors from overseas fell 2.2 percent to 2,520,100 in the reporting month, down for the first time since September last year when a powerful typhoon hit western Japan and a major earthquake rocked Hokkaido, the Japan Tourism Agency said.
The Japanese government has been aiming to attract 40 million foreign visitors by 2020, when the country is set to host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. But the target has been overshadowed by the deterioration in Tokyo-Seoul ties, which has prompted some airlines to suspend services connecting the two countries.