Scheduled international flights to and from regional airports in Japan increased 60 percent over the past five years, according to data compiled by the transport ministry.
The growth is likely the result of local government efforts to entice low-cost carriers to serve their airports amid a steady rise in the number of tourists from overseas, ministry officials said Thursday.
During the period from the end of March to the end of October, the number of such weekly scheduled flights rose from 436 in 2010 to 692 this year, with many connecting Japanese regional airports to other parts of Asia such as China.
The number of airports served outside Japan increased to 26 from 23 five years ago.
More tourists are expected to visit Japan every year leading to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. A transport ministry official said it was important for regions to cooperate in developing new tour routes beside those connecting Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
Twenty-five regional airports currently have scheduled international flights. Naha airport in Okinawa Prefecture saw the number of flights soar 4.7-fold to 121, while New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido saw the number nearly double to slightly over 80.
There was also a 2.5-fold increase to 56 in the number of scheduled flights between Japanese regional airports and Hong Kong, a 130 percent increase to 139 in flights linking Taiwan, a 50 percent rise to 213 in flights connecting China, and a 30 percent jump to 219 in such air links with South Korea.