Photo/Illutration Visitors from overseas in the Asakusa district in Tokyo (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan drew a record number of visitors last year, but the rate of increase took a hit mainly due to a sharp drop in tourists from South Korea owing to a trade dispute and other issues.

Tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba announced Jan. 10 that projections showed a total of 31.88 million tourists came to this country in 2019, up 2.2 percent from the previous year.

It marked the seventh straight record high for the number of foreign tourists. However, the increase was much lower than the uptick of 8.7 percent in 2018, owing to a sharp decline in South Korean tourists since the latter half of last year.

The drop was set off in part by Japan's tightening of export controls on components used to make semiconductors, implemented in July 2019. A number of airlines reduced or canceled flights as a result of the drop in travelers, leading to a 48-percent decrease in South Korean visitors in August compared to the same month the previous year.

Since September, the number of South Korean tourists has remained at about half the previous year's level. As such tourists have accounted for about one-quarter of all foreign visitors in recent years, such declines have reduced the overall increase rate for the number of visitors from overseas.

Asked about the central government's goal to draw 40 million visitors from abroad this year, with the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, he said sports and other events as well as the planned enhancement of airport capabilities in the Tokyo metropolitan area and at Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture will help boost foreign tourist numbers.

"We will take full advantage of the excellent opportunity (that awaits us this year)," Akaba said.