The number of foreign tourists to Japan has topped 20 million for the first time since 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japan National Tourism Organization says 2.44 million foreigners visited Japan in November, exceeding 2 million for the sixth straight month. This brings the total since January to more than 22.33 million.

Among last month's visitors, there were 649,900 from South Korea, 403,500 from Taiwan, 258,300 from China and 200,400 from Hong Kong.

The numbers from 13 countries and regions were the highest ever for November. They include South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Australia.

Officials with the tourism organization say the weak yen is encouraging more people to travel to Japan from all over Asia, Europe and North America.

Meanwhile, the number of tourists from China, who used to make up the bulk of visitors to Japan, remained at about one-third of the level it was four years ago.