The number of airline passengers using Japan's Narita Airport has increased nearly threefold over a year, largely owing to the relaxation of border controls in October.

But the figure is only about one-third of the pre-pandemic level as the number of passengers from China has not recovered.

The airport operating company says that in 2022, 15.42 million passengers used Narita Airport east of Tokyo. The overall number was more than 10 million, up 2.9 times the previous year.

The number of international passengers was 9.03 million, 4.7 times more than the year before. The 2021 number was the lowest in the airport began operating in May 1978.

The figure for domestic flight passengers was 6.38 million, 1.9 times that in 2021.

Increased border controls have kept the number of passengers from China low.

The president of Narita International Airport Corporation, Tamura Akihiko, said visitors from China are the key for the recovery of the number of passengers.

He added that his company will work to maintain sufficient services, even if the number suddenly rebounds.