The number of foreign visitors to Japan marked the largest percentage drop in more than seven years in October with a 5.5 percent year-on-year fall, as a devastating typhoon and a continued plunge in South Korean tourists more than offset positive effects from the Rugby World Cup, government data showed Wednesday.
The number of overseas visitors came to 2,496,600 in the month, down from 2,640,610 in October last year, the Japan Tourism Agency said.
The 5.5 percent decline was the biggest since February 2012 when the figure sagged 19.6 percent, and represents a setback to the government's efforts to boost the number of annual inbound visitors to 40 million by next year when the country hosts the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.