TOKYO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of foreign visitors to Japan rose to over 3.08 million in March, crossing 3 million for the first time ever in a single month, government data showed Wednesday.
The March figures rose from 2.79 million in February, eclipsing the previous high of 2.99 million set in July 2019, data from the Japan National Tourism Organization showed.
The amount of money spent by foreign travelers in the country expanded to a record 1.75 trillion yen (11.3 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-March period, the highest ever for a three-month period, thanks to the weaker yen, according to the agency.
The surge in foreign tourists can be attributed to the attraction of the country's famous cherry blossom season, as well as the start of the Easter holidays in late March this year, when there were more travelers from Western countries such as Australia and the United States.
Meanwhile, outbound tourism remains low compared to inbound arrivals, mostly due to the weak yen and high prices abroad. In March, about 1.22 million people visited foreign countries from Japan, around 60 percent of the figure during the same period in 2019. ■
