Aug 16 (NHK) - The number of foreign visitors to Japan in July hit a record for the month, supported by growing ranks of individual travelers from China.
The Japan National Tourism Organization says an estimated 2.8 million foreign nationals visited the country last month, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier.
Officials say visitors from mainland China made up the largest group at 880,000.
They say more flights from Thailand and Vietnam operated by low-cost carriers also helped.
The number of travelers from South Korea was down 5.6 percent to 610,000, making the first decline in 26 months. The number from Hong Kong dropped 3.3 percent.
Officials say despite the overall increase, some tourists apparently decided not to come to Japan after torrential rain caused disasters in the western parts of the country.
The officials say they will work to provide accurate information about the aftermath of the disasters through events abroad and social media.
