Overtourism: Japanese Welcoming Despite Worries

Last year, almost 37 million international tourists visited Japan, up from 25 million in 2023 and compared to 32 million in 2019 before Covid-19 hit. Foreigners visiting Japan spent an a whopping 8 trillion Yen in the country in 2024, up from just around 5 trillion in 2023 as well as before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pictures of crowded landmarks and stories of traditional sites being disturbed in the country have made the rounds online in recent years. At the same time, Japan is being associated more and more with overtourism.

A survey by local media outlet Asahi Shimbun shows that Japanese people are in fact worried about these developments, all while keeping a friendly and welcoming demeanor towards tourists that the country is so well-known for. According to the responses, more than three quarters of Japanese surveyed by telephone in early 2025 said that overtourism was a big or at least somewhat of a problem. Only 4 percent said it was no problem at all. On the other hand, 30 percent of international tourists to Japan recently indicated they had experienced overtourism during their time in the country, like congestion.

Despite this, 68 percent still said the new tourism record in Japan was a good thing, with younger people and Greater Tokyo residents agreeing most. While some forecasts say that 2025 tourism numbers will reach 40 million this year, the Japanese government want to welcome 60 million tourists by 2030. Japan also recently topped a list of countries tourists wanted to revisit,