Japan Sees Surge In Tourist Complaints In 2024: Issues With Accommodation, Pricing, And Fake Goods

Published on September 7, 2025

There has been a noticeable summation successful complaints from world visitors to Japan, 1 of nan astir visited countries successful nan world. Consultation requests person accrued arsenic a consequence of problems pinch lodging, costly goods, and moreover clone equipment arsenic nan tourism assemblage continues to grow. A grounds number of enquiries were received by Japan’s National Consumer Affairs Centre (NCAC), suggesting that nan visitant acquisition needs to beryllium improved and consciousness raised.

A Surge successful Inquiries to nan NCAC

The NCAC has agelong served arsenic a hotline for visitors facing various challenges during their enactment successful Japan. In fiscal 2024, nan hotline recorded a staggering 388 calls, a important summation from nan 161 further calls successful nan erstwhile twelvemonth and a monolithic jump from nan erstwhile precocious of 264 calls successful 2019. This summation tin beryllium attributed to nan surge successful world visitors to Japan, particularly arsenic tourism rebounded aft nan pandemic.

The NCAC has been actively providing consultations since its constitution successful December 2018. The hotline offers assistance successful aggregate languages, including English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, French, and Japanese. This multilingual work helps guarantee that visitors from divers backgrounds person entree to basal support, peculiarly erstwhile navigating user issues abroad.

Breakdown of Complaints: Where nan Issues Lie

Most of nan complaints received by nan NCAC revolved astir accommodation-related issues. Tourists often reported uncovering rooms successful hotels and inns to beryllium overmuch smaller than advertised, while others complained astir mediocre cleanliness, specified arsenic garbage aliases hairsbreadth near successful their rooms. These incidents person caused frustration, arsenic visitors were near pinch a less-than-pleasant acquisition than they had anticipated based connected online photos.

Another area of interest has been nan unsmooth handling of luggage, which led to damaged items, particularly vulnerable purchases made by tourists. Visitors person besides expressed dissatisfaction pinch what they described arsenic “dual pricing” astatine restaurants. Many overseas visitors recovered themselves charged much than Japanese customers for nan aforesaid service, and nan discrepancy was often exacerbated erstwhile they were asked to salary precocious work fees—sometimes arsenic overmuch arsenic 20 per cent—simply because they were world visitors.

A further title progressive discrepancies successful paper prices. Foreign-language menus often listed prices that were 10 to 20 per cent higher than those listed successful Japanese versions. Additionally, visitors were reportedly unaware that they could not return leftovers location from restaurants, which led to further vexation among those unfamiliar pinch nan section eating etiquette.

Fake equipment person besides go a important issue, pinch visitors uncovering themselves purchasing counterfeit luxury marque items. Some person sought guidance from nan NCAC connected really to return these equipment and request refunds. Concerns were raised peculiarly complete duty-free shops, wherever visitors bought what they believed to beryllium genuine, patient items, only to later observe that nan products were not arsenic advertised.

The Context of Japan’s Tourism Boom

The emergence successful complaints is not wholly unexpected, fixed nan dependable summation successful nan number of overseas visitors to Japan. According to nan Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), astir 24.96 cardinal visitors visited Japan betwixt January and July 2024, marking an 18.4 per cent summation from nan erstwhile year. China remained nan largest root of world visitors, followed intimately by South Korea, Taiwan, and nan United States.

The full number of visitors to Japan successful 2024 reached 36.87 million, surpassing nan erstwhile grounds group successful 2019 by astir 5 cardinal people. This surge successful visitors has brought pinch it a emergence successful consumer-related complaints, further highlighting nan request for amended user protection for world visitors.

Record Spending by Foreign Tourists

As nan number of visitors continues to climb, truthful does their spending. In 2024, spending by overseas visitors successful Japan deed a grounds precocious of 8.13 trillion yen (approximately $54.99 billion). The largest spending group was Chinese tourists, who accounted for a full of 1.73 trillion yen, followed by visitors from Taiwan, South Korea, nan United States, and Hong Kong. These 5 regions collectively accounted for a important portion—65.7 per cent—of nan full spending by inbound tourists.

On average, each overseas tourer spent astir 227,000 yen during their trip. This magnitude was surgery down into accommodation costs (77,000 yen), shopping expenses (66,000 yen), and nutrient and drinks (49,000 yen). These figures not only bespeak nan increasing measurement of visitors but besides show nan important economical effect of tourism connected nan Japanese economy.

Measures Taken to Address Complaints

In consequence to nan increasing number of complaints, nan Japanese authorities has been taking steps to amended nan acquisition for overseas visitors. The National Consumer Affairs Centre continues to connection proposal and solutions done its multilingual hotline, providing a captious assets for world visitors who brushwood problems during their stay.

In addition, nan Japanese authorities has group an eager extremity to pull 60 cardinal visitors by 2030, pinch a target of generating 15 trillion yen successful tourism revenue. As portion of this effort, nan authorities has been moving connected enhancing tourism infrastructure and improving user protection services to guarantee that visitors person a affirmative acquisition while visiting Japan.

The Future of Tourism successful Japan

It is clear that handling customer complaints will beryllium a awesome situation going guardant arsenic nan number of overseas visitors to Japan keeps growing. Japan will request to put policies successful spot that safeguard nan authorities of overseas visitors arsenic problems pinch lodging, value differences, and clone equipment go much common. By doing this, Japan tin make judge that nan surge successful tourism results successful some financial gains and a amended recreation acquisition for each visitors.

Travellers seeking much accusation tin sojourn nan charismatic NCAC website, which provides answers to commonly asked questions and adjuvant proposal connected handling consumer-related concerns successful Japan. Additionally, nan authorities is moving to heighten its services, making it simpler for overseas visitors to get assistance erstwhile they request it.