Japan sees record 17.78 million visitors in first half of 2024

East Asian country sees tourism burst past pre-pandemic levels as weak yen draws record visitors.

Japan welcomed a record 17.78 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, the country’s tourism agency has said, as the weak yen helped drive tourist numbers above pre-pandemic levels.

The January-June figure announced by the Japan National Tourism Organization on Friday is more than one million more people than the previous high of 16.63 million in 2019.

Japan is experiencing a tourism…