Government officials estimate that 31.2 million foreign nationals visited Japan in 2018. The figure rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, marking a record high for the 6th straight year.In recent years, Japan has been making an effort to boost tourism as it prepares for the economic impact of a declining birthrate and aging society. The government is aiming to increase the number of foreign visitors to 40 million by 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympics.