Jul 20 (NHK) - The number of tourists coming to Japan hit a record high in the first half of 2017. The Japan National Tourism Organization says more than 13.75 million people visited Japan in the 6 months.
That's up 17 percent from a year ago and the highest ever for the January-to-June period.
An increase in air routes between Japan and South Korea helped spur the rise. Cruise ships from China and Taiwan making port calls in Japan were another factor.
Visitor spending also reached an all-time high. For the most recent quarter, between April and June, the total was around 9.6 billion dollars.
But expenditure per traveler fell 6.7 percent from the same period last year to around 1,300 dollars.
