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Japan National Tourism Organization Kuala Lumpur Office (JNTO KL) continues to support Malaysian travelers bound for Japan with their participation in MATTA Fair which was held this 1st to 3rd September 2023 at Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC), Kuala Lumpur.
“2023 continues to be an exciting year for those visiting Japan as there have been so many new activities, attractions and accommodations that have opened up in the past couple of years. We’ve been receiving so much positive feedback and inquiries from Malaysians about traveling to Japan, and being at MATTA Fair was a great opportunity for us to address and understand travelers’ needs and wants. We had many Japanese exhibitors participate in this MATTA Fair because of the potential in the Malaysian market, and we expect to attract more tourists from Malaysia in the future.” said Executive Director of JNTO KL, Ms Fumi Matsumoto.
Additionally, JNTO has provided a science-based resource from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, METI regarding recent concerns about ALPS treated water discharge, available on their website.
JNTO has released statistics about foreign visitors to Japan via their website (in Japanese). In July, preliminary estimates exceeded the two million mark for the first time in 2023 at 2,320,600 visitor arrivals, up 12% from June 2023. Meanwhile, JNTO’s preliminary figures for Malaysian visitor arrivals to Japan in July stood at 17,400, which is 24.2% lower than July 2019’s recorded arrivals of 22,957. The number of monthly arrivals from Malaysia this year has also been announced:
| Month | Number of visitor arrivals |
| January 2023 | 27,099 |
| February 2023 | 31,992 |
| March 2023 | 38,904 |
| April 2023 | 40,244 |
| May 2023 | 34,004 |
| June 2023 | 22,000 |
| January to June 2023 Total | 194,243 |
Source: JNTO
Preliminary estimated figure.