The rise in tourists visiting Japan is statistically off the charts qz.com

From 1995 to 2012, the annual number of tourists going to Japan increased from 3.3 million to 8.4 million, a growth rate of about 6% each year.

And then, the deluge.

In its most recent report, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that about 28.7 million tourists visited Japan in 2017. This increase, a change of more than 20 million over just five years, is the largest ever recorded by the organization, which keeps statistics going back to 1995. The UNWTO considers any overnight stay by a foreigner a tourist visit.