More and more Koreans are traveling to Japan despite online hysteria about the dangers of radioactive contamination as the island country releases wastewater from the stricken nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, 515,700 Korean tourists visited Japan in May, up 10.4 percent from April. Of the total 1.9 million foreigners who traveled to Japan in May, 27.2 percent were Koreans, the biggest proportion for the fifth month running.
The numbers depend a lot on seasonal factors, which requires comparisons on a yearly basis. The number of Koreans who visited Japan in January of this year was equivalent to 72.5 percent of those who visited the country in January 2019, before the pandemic. That increased to 79.4 percent in February, 79.7 percent in March, 82.4 percent in April and 85.5 percent last month.
Korean Instagram teems with pictures of food in Fukuoka, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo, and others asking for information on the best sushi restaurants.
One travel industry insider said, "Package tours to Japan are selling out, so you wonder whether Koreans are really concerned with all the media hype about radioactive water."
