THE JAPAN NEWS
 
The number of visitors to Japan in January-October grew 27.1 percent from a year before to 11,009,000, already topping the full-year record of 10,363,904 marked in 2013, an estimate by the Japan National Tourism Organization showed Wednesday.
 
As a result, the number of visitors in 2014 is on track to hit a record high for the second straight year.
 
The growth reflected a weak yen, the easing of visa requirements for some Southeast Asian countries and an increase in the number of international flights at Haneda Airport.
 
Japan is also coming under the spotlight as the host of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, JNTO officials said.
 
The annual figure for 2014 is anticipated to total around 13 million, they said.
 
In January-October, the number of visitors from Taiwan topped the list, rising 26.4 percent to 2,381,200.
 
South Korea came second, with 2,245,400, up 6.8 percent, followed by China with 2,011,800, up 80.3 percent.
 
The number of visitors from Southeast Asian countries grew sharply. The total from the Philippines jumped 65.4 percent to 146,500, from Malaysia by 49.8 percent to 182,500, and from Thailand by 48.2 percent to 513,300.