The number of foreign visitors to Japan in May dropped 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 3.56 million, marking its second consecutive month of decline, government data showed Wednesday.

Data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization showed that Chinese mainland visitor arrivals plummeted 60.4 percent year on year in May, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline.

Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made erroneous remarks on Taiwan, the number of Chinese mainland tourists traveling to Japan has continued to decline, putting pressure on Japan's retail, accommodation and catering sectors.

Meanwhile, Japanese airlines have raised fuel surcharges amid surging prices. Japan Tourism Agency commissioner Shigeki Murata noted that currently it is difficult to predict the extent of the impact on inbound tourism demand.

xinhua