South Korean Visitors to Japan Drop 7.6 Pct in July

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)--The estimated number of South Korean visitors to Japan in July fell 7.6 pct from a year before to 561,700, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. The number of South Korean visitors to Japan, the second highest by country or region after China, has been sluggish due to a slump in the South Korean economy. In addition, an increasing number of South Korean people refrained from visiting Japan after tensions between the two countries escalated following Tokyo's decision in early July to tighten controls on semiconductor materials exports to South Korea. The pace of decline in the number of South Korean visitors to Japan may accelerate as South Korean airlines have been scaling down their flights connecting the two Asian countries, sources familiar with the situation said. The overall number of visitors to Japan in July grew 5.6 pct to 2,991,200, hitting a monthly record high, led by a rise in the number of travelers from China, the JNTO said. Visitors from mainland China jumped 19.5 pct to 1,050,500, exceeding the one-million threshold for the first time on a monthly basis. The cumulative number of visitors to Japan in January-July rose 4.8 pct to 19,624,800. END