Japan suffers 58% drop in foreign tourist arrivals on coronavirus

Decline in February is nearly as bad as after 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster

20200319 Narita airport arrival

People walk through the Narita Airport with masks following an outbreak of the new coronavirus in Japan, March 9. © Reuters

ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- A total of 1.08 million visitors from overseas arrived in Japan in February, plunging nearly 60% from the same month last year as arrivals from China dropped almost 90% amid the coronavirus outbreak, figures released by the Japan National Tourism Organization showed Thursday.

The 58.3% decline is similar to that recorded in April 2011, a 62.5% fall, soon after the deadly 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The coronavirus outbreak, which the World Health Organization has designated a global pandemic, is also expected to have negatively affected the number of foreign arrivals for March.

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