Japan Tourism Agency

The Japan Tourism Agency (観光庁, Kankō-chō) is a national government agency established in 2008 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Its primary role is promoting inbound and domestic tourism policy and publishing the official monthly statistics on international visitor arrivals to Japan. These statistics are the authoritative source for inbound tourism analysis and are cited by international press, industry bodies, and government reports globally. In the context of Lowdown's nomads-and-communities coverage, the Agency is cited as the source for April 2026 arrivals data showing a 5.5% year-on-year decline to 3,692,200, driven by a 56.8% collapse in Chinese visitors following Beijing's official travel advisory urging Chinese citizens to avoid Japan.