Singaporeans love Japan.

They really love visiting Japan.

And the numbers bear that out.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), an astounding 591,267 visitors from Singapore showed up in 2023.

This number also includes transit passengers and foreigners who happen to stay in Japan (like expats and international students) and are re-entering.

Now JNTO says these numbers refer to "travellers of foreign nationality entering Japan, provided by the Ministry of Justice."

So Singaporean citizens, not residents.

And with the number of Singaporean citizens reaching 3.61 million as of June 2023, according to Singapore's National Population and Talent Division, that means one out of every six Singaporeans visited Japan in 2023.

Of course, this is only true assuming there were no repeat trips. But still, that's a lot of Singaporeans going to Japan.

Comparison

The Singapore figure is bigger than Malaysia (415,712) and Indonesia (429,382), despite their bigger population sizes.

It's even bigger than the UK (321,482).

Of course, there were more visitors from China and the U.S. (over 2 million each), but consider the population sizes.

The number of Singapore visitors was a quarter of China's number (2.4 million), but Singapore's citizen population is 390 times smaller than China's.

It just goes to show how popular Japan is as a travel destination among Singaporeans.

Concerns about overtourism

While tourists bring in revenue, concerns have risen over "overtourism", with large numbers of tourists crowding popular spots like Kyoto and Mount Fuji, reported Nikkei Asia.

Recently, local Japanese authorities have blocked off the sight of Mount Fuji from a Lawson convenience store popular with social media users, due to tourists leaving behind rubbish and ignoring traffic rules.

The relative weakness of the Japanese yen has also made it more attractive for foreign tourists to visit, as their spending money can stretch further.

Although there is some indication that Japan's central bank has intervened to strengthen the yen, the country will likely remain a popular tourist destination for Singaporeans.

Top image by Egor Myznik via Unsplash.