Japan outbound travel remains at 70% of pre-pandemic levels amid weak yen
Overseas travel from Japan has been recovering but remains at more than 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels amid a weak yen, a Kyodo News analysis of government data showed Saturday.
In 2025, Japanese nationals made a total of 14.73 million trips abroad, compared with a record 20.08 million in 2019. The government had set a goal of surpassing the 2019 figure in 2025.
The target was reset in March this year to exceed the 2019 figure by 2030. As part of efforts to promote overseas travel, the government will lower passport issuance fees for applications filed on or after July 1.
Airlines need to maintain a certain number of outbound travelers to sustain their international routes.
After peaking in 2019, the number of overseas trips from Japan plunged to 510,000 in 2021 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, then began to recover the following year, rising to 13.0 million in 2024, according to data for the past 76 years.
Tokyo saw the smallest drop at 19.5 percent, while Fukushima in northeastern Japan saw the largest, down 43.0 percent from 106,000 departures in 2019 to 60,000 in 2025.
Data also showed women in their 20s were more active in overseas travel in recent years, while fewer men and women in their 70s or older traveled abroad compared with other age groups.
Departures recovered moderately year on year in the January-March period, but the number of outbound travelers may decline as airlines raise fuel surcharges for international flights amid a surge in crude oil prices, experts said.
In contrast, foreign visitors to Japan exceeded 42.43 million in 2025 amid booming inbound tourism, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
Earlier, it was reported foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high for March.