The number of foreign visitors to Japan has topped 3 million for the third straight month. The weak yen helped to maintain the record pace for inbound tourism.

The Japan National Tourism Organization estimates that 3.04 million travelers came to the country in May.

Japan had more visitors from the US, Singapore and some other countries compared to a year ago. Higher numbers of tourists from East Asia also pushed up the monthly total.

South Korean travelers made up the largest group, topping 738,000. Those from mainland China followed with more than 545,000. That was followed by visitors from Taiwan. US travelers came in fourth.

The organization says the figures for 19 out of 23 economies covered by its survey hit an all-time high for the month of May.

The number of Japanese outbound travelers, however, fell to a little above 941,000. That's down more than 34 percent from the same month in 2019 before the pandemic. The weaker yen is one factor behind the slow recovery.