International tourism, number of departures in Japan
Japan: International tourism, number of departures was 3.17 million in 2020. ▼ Falling
International tourism, number of departures in Japan, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Japan recorded 3.17 million for international tourism, number of departures in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 84.2% on the previous year and down 80.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Japan peaked at 20.08 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.17 million, in 2020.
That places Japan 39th out of 117 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in Japan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 15.30 million | — |
| 1996 | 16.70 million | +9.1% |
| 1997 | 16.80 million | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 15.81 million | -5.9% |
| 1999 | 16.36 million | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 17.82 million | +8.9% |
| 2001 | 16.22 million | -9.0% |
| 2002 | 16.52 million | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 13.30 million | -19.5% |
| 2004 | 16.83 million | +26.6% |
| 2005 | 17.40 million | +3.4% |
| 2006 | 17.54 million | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 17.30 million | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 15.99 million | -7.6% |
| 2009 | 15.45 million | -3.4% |
| 2010 | 16.64 million | +7.7% |
| 2011 | 16.99 million | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 18.49 million | +8.8% |
| 2013 | 17.47 million | -5.5% |
| 2014 | 16.90 million | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 16.21 million | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 17.12 million | +5.6% |
| 2017 | 17.89 million | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 18.95 million | +6.0% |
| 2019 | 20.08 million | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 3.17 million | -84.2% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 3.17 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.67 million, 1.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Japan's 3.17 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 707,000, 4.5× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of departures in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -84.2% | 20.08 million | 3.17 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 16.19 million | 15.30 million | 16.80 million | 5 |
| 2000s | 16.44 million | 13.30 million | 17.82 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.68 million | 16.21 million | 20.08 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.17 million | 3.17 million | 3.17 million | 1 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More private sector data for Japan
- Merchandise trade 33.7% (2025)
- Food imports 9.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 59.9% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 755.55 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 266.13 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 80.6% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 738.34 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 242.56 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 5,985 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Japan?
- International tourism, number of departures in Japan was 3.17 million in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 20.08 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.17 million in 2020.
- How does Japan rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Japan ranks 39th out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 80.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.