Japan sees record 21.5 million tourists in first six months

Tokyo: A record 21.5 million tourists visited Japan in the first six months of the year, a 21 percent increase year on year, official figures showed W...

Tokyo: A record 21.5 million tourists visited Japan in the first six months of the year, a 21-percent increase year-on-year, official figures showed Wednesday, despite visitors from Hong Kong dropping by a third last month over rumours of a quake.

"The number exceeded 20 million in six months, the fastest pace ever," the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said in a statement.

The figure in June alone jumped 7.6 percent to record 3.4 million, due to "increased demand to coincide with school holidays," it said.

The number was boosted by a jump year-on-year in tourists from China, South Korea, Singapore, India, the United States and Germany.

But the number of travellers from Hong Kong plunged 33.4 percent in June, with the JNTO citing online rumours warning of a huge quake in Japan.