Number of Chinese Visitors to Japan Continues to Decline in May, While Mountaineering Accidents Among Foreigners Hit Record High

(Tokyo, 18th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) According to Japanese estimates, 3,559,900 foreigners visited Japan in May, a decrease of 3.6% from the same month last year. The number of Chinese tourists continues to be sluggish due to deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations. Additionally, statistics show that both the number of cases and individuals involved in mountaineering accidents among foreigners in Japan have hit record highs.

According to Kyodo News, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced on the 17th the estimated number of foreign visitors for May, noting that the figure has declined for two consecutive months.

The report analyzes that due to the influence of remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (Translator's note: based on the original article's text, but she is not the current PM) on the "Taiwan contingency," the number of Chinese tourists has fallen for six consecutive months, plummeting by 60.4% year-on-year to just 313,000. On the other hand, tourists from the United States and various European countries have increased, and the impact of the Middle East situation appears to be limited to certain areas.

The number of tourists from the Middle East, which had decreased in April due to the worsening situation in Iran, grew significantly by 67.8% in May, reaching 39,000. Although the number of tourists from some countries declined due to flight reductions, Islamic holidays falling in May this year boosted overall growth from the region.

As foreign tourists venture deeper into Japan's remote areas, safety alarms are ringing.

The latest statistics released today by Japan's National Police Agency show that the number of people involved in mountaineering accidents nationwide in 2025 reached 3,623, an increase of 266 from 2024 and a record high since records began in 1961.

According to Jiji Press, there were 3,122 mountaineering accidents in 2025, an increase of 176 from 2024, the second-highest number on record. The number of deaths and missing persons from these accidents was 332, an increase of 32 from 2024. Among them, cases involving foreign visitors reached 174, with 246 people, both record highs since 2018.

Areas with a high number of accidents include the Chichibu Mountains spanning the Kanto and Chubu regions, the Tanzawa Mountains in northwestern Kanagawa Prefecture, and the Mount Takao area in western Tokyo. The Chichibu Mountains had 171 accidents, the Tanzawa Mountains had 168, and Mount Takao had 106.

On Mount Fuji, due to the introduction of climbing control measures, the number of accidents decreased by 34 from 2024 to 49. By prefecture, Nagano had the most with 392 people, followed by Hokkaido with 250, and Yamanashi with 219.

Nearly half of the victims were aged 60 or older, with the 70s age group being the largest at 749 people. The report points out that victims aged 60 and over accounted for about two-thirds of the dead and missing, presumably due to factors like physical fitness. Only 698 people, less than 20% of all victims, had submitted a hiking plan.

Data shows that the number of foreign visitors involved in accidents reached 246, an increase of 111 from 2024, including 6 deaths or missing persons. Among these, cases of skiing outside designated trails and mountaineering accounted for about 80%.

The main causes of accidents were getting lost, falling, and slipping. Incidents of injury from bear attacks increased sharply to 27 cases, three times the number in 2024.

An official from the National Police Agency emphasized, "Sufficient planning, preparation, and submitting a hiking plan are important." They also noted that while the use of smartphone GPS functions and hiking map apps is increasing, hikers also face issues like dead batteries or being out of signal range. The official urged the public not to over-rely on mobile tools and to use them in conjunction with paper maps and compasses.