China Helps Tourism in Japan Edge Toward Pre-Pandemic Levels

An All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA) employee, left, escorts a group of Chinese tourists and a tour conductor, right, at the arrival lobby of Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan.

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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The number of foreign visitors to Japan recovered to 86% of pre-pandemic levels in August with Chinese tourists adding a boost, according to Japan’s National Tourism Organization.

The number of visitors was about 2.2 million, compared with 2.52 million in August 2019, the organization reported on Wednesday. The number of Chinese visitors was 364,100, a 16% increase from July, after China ended its ban on tour groups to Japan last month. That compared with a little over 1 million in August 2019.