According to the report of JNOCNEWS, data released by Japan National Tourism Organization on Wednesday show that from January to August this year, the number of foreign tourists to Japan increased by 49 percent, reaching 12.9 million, which almost equals to the 13.4 million foreign tourists to Japan in the whole year of 2014. The increase is mainly due to the devaluation of the yen and the loosened visa policy of Japanese government.

Japanese media reported that in August, the number of foreign tourists increased by 64 percent from the same period of last year, reaching 1.8 million, which is only next to the record high number of foreign tourists in this July (1.9 million). The expansion of airline routes and the callings of large-scale cruise ships have also contributed to the increase of foreign tourists. 

In terms of the source of foreign tourists in August, the number of tourists from Chinese mainland reached 591,500, 2.3 times as many as the same period of last year and ranked first; the number of tourists from South Korea was 391,000, a year-on-year growth of 56 percent and ranked second; the number of tourists from China's Taiwan province reached 313,900, a year-on-year growth of 37 percent and ranked third; and the number of tourists from Hong Kong was 141,500, a year-on-year growth of 89 percent and ranked fourth.