TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Japan welcomed a record 36.8 million tourists in 2024, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). The figure is expected to be even higher in 2025, raising concerns that Japan will experience the effects of overtourism. In anticipation of this, Japan established an administrative body aimed at mitigating the impact of overtourism in the country on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
This policy was developed in response to citizens' concerns about the recent surge in foreign nationals.
According to the Independent, the body will serve as a cross-agency "control tower" to address issues such as crimes and overtourism involving foreign nationals.
Record Foreign Nationals
Japan has maintained population homogeneity through strict immigration laws. However, the country gradually relaxed these laws to meet the needs of a shrinking and aging workforce. The number of foreign nationals reached a record of approximately 3.8 million last year. This figure is only 3 percent of the total population, but it is the highest.
This administrative body was established after a group of Liberal Democratic Party members, led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, proposed measures to create an orderly and harmonious community with foreign nationals. These measures include imposing stricter requirements for foreign nationals switching to Japanese driver's licenses and wanting to purchase real estate properties.
"Crimes and disorderly conduct by some foreigners, as well as the inappropriate use of various administrative systems, have created a situation in which the public feels uneasy and cheated," Ishiba said at the inauguration ceremony last June.
JNTO revealed that over 36.8 million people visited Japan for business or leisure in 2024, surpassing the previous record of 31.88 million set in 2019. The significant increase includes tourists from the US, Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
By mid-2025, Japan had received 21.5 million foreign tourists, 21 percent higher than the previous year. This figure is a record during that period, said JNTO on Wednesday, as reported by Skift.
Skift reported last month that Japanese officials have outlined a plan that would require all tourists to have private health insurance, aiming to reduce issues of foreign visitors not paying for medical treatment they receive.
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