Record Visitors Flocking to Japan in Bright Spot for Weak Economy

The 10-million threshold was reached three months earlier this year than in 2014, driven by increasing numbers of Chinese tourists, according to data released on Wednesday by the Japan National Tourism Organization. There were 11.1 million foreign visitors in the January-July period, up from 7.5 million a year earlier.

The data highlight progress in one area of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to revive the world's third-biggest economy: tourism. The cheaper yen resulting from his reflation policies has made it more affordable for people from abroad to stay and shop in Japan. Department stores are among those taking advantage of the extra business,increasing their range of duty free products and hiring of bilingual sales staff. "Inbound tourism is one of a few things we can be optimistic about in Japan's economy," said Koya Miyamae, an economist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. "There's plenty of room for growth as Japan is still far behind top destinations such as France or China." Foreign tourists spent 1.6 trillion yen in Japan in the first half of the year, about 0.6 percent of gross domestic product for the period, according to data from the tourism agency and Cabinet Office. Tourism is swinging increasingly in Japan's favor in its foreign trade accounts, with the surplus rising to a record 527.3 billion yen in the same period, according to the finance ministry. The boom in inbound tourism contrasts with weak spending by Japanese consumers and companies, which contributed to a contraction in the economy last quarter. The government is targeting to boost the number of inbound tourists per year to 30 million by 2030, up from 13.4 million last year.