NARITA, CHIBA PREF. ¨C The number of foreign passengers on international flights to and from Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, rose 3% from a year earlier to 2,108,313 in December, hitting a record high for the month, the airport¡¯s operator said in a preliminary report Thursday.
¡°(The number of) foreign passengers remained firm, especially tourists,¡± Narita International Airport President Naoki Fujii said at a news conference.
However, the number of flights between the airport and China fell 18% to 2,122, following the Chinese government¡¯s request for its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan.
In January, the monthly number of China flights had totaled 1,524 as of Saturday, down 27%. ¡°The pace of decrease is accelerating,¡± Fujii said.
Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February, he said, ¡°We need to keep a close eye on how the situation develops.¡±
In December, the total number of domestic and international flights to and from Narita Airport increased 4% to 3,649,542.
For all of 2025, the number of passengers using the airport rose 6% from the previous year to 42,255,291. Of the total, the number of foreign passengers on international flights climbed 10% to 23,906,893, marking a record high.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.