Foreign visitors to Japan hits new record in February

TOKYO - The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a new record for the month in February, according to estimations from the Japan Tourism Agency on Tuesday.

According to the agency, 2,509,300 tourists visited Japan in the recording month, marking a 23.3 percent jump from a year earlier.

The agency noted that as the Chinese Lunar New Year this year began later than last, the number of inbound tourists from Asian countries leapt and helped boost the overall influx.

Visitors from China's mainland topped the chart with a jump of 40.7 percent from a year earlier to 716,400 tourists, while South Korea ranked second with visitor numbers reaching 708,300, which is 18.1 percent more than the previous year.

Travelers from China's Taiwan took the third spot with 400,900 visitors and those coming from Hong Kong totaled 178,500 in the recording month, the agency said and was quoted as saying that holiday makers from these parts choosing to travel to Japan in February were largely due to the Lunar New Year holidays.

The agency also noted that visits to Japan from Singapore and Malaysia in the recording month also posted significant upticks on year in February, with numbers jumping 33.2 percent and 32.4 percent, respectively.