Rumors of a major July earthquake have a mixed impact on Japanese tourism: Chinese tourists increase by 25% while South Korean visitors drop by 10%

Rumors of a "major earthquake in July" circulating in Japan are affecting tourists from South Korea and Hong Kong. According to statistics released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on the 20th for July, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan was 1,000.
The total number of foreign tourists reached 3,437,000, a 4.4% increase from the same month last year, the highest number ever recorded for July. However, the figures were mixed when broken down by country and region.
The highest increase was seen among Chinese tourists, who increased by 25.5% compared to the same month last year to 974,500, making them the largest number by country.
The number of South Korean tourists fell 10.4% to 678,600, and the number of Hong Kong tourists fell 36.9% to 176,000.
JNTO attributes the decline in tourists from South Korea and Hong Kong to the decline in international tourism.
The report cited the influence of the "July earthquake theory" that spread online, and also analyzed that increased travel demand to Southeast Asia and China in South Korea also played a role.
In terms of visitor numbers by country, Taiwan came in third, following China and South Korea, with a 5.7% increase to 604,200 visitors, and the United States came in third, with a 10.3% increase to 270,710 visitors.
00 people and came in fourth place.