A record number of visas were issued for foreign nationals in 2018, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said Sunday.
Based on figures from Japan's Foreign Ministry, NHK said the government granted more than 6.95 million visas in the reporting year to foreign nationals.
The number of visas issued in 2018 was a 19 percent rise compared to the previous year, with the total for the year marking a record high, the ministry's data showed, according to NHK.
Visitors from China were granted more than 5.44 million visas and accounted for around 78 percent of all visas issued in the recording year, the ministry said, while visas issued to people from the Philippines stood at 347,800 in 2018, based on the official figures.
Those granted to people from Vietnam, meanwhile, stood at 286,900, while embassies and consulates of Japan granted visas to 242,800 Indonesians in the recording year.
As Tokyo gears up to host the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, Japan's Foreign Ministry believes that embassies and consulates will continue to issue rising numbers of visas to accommodate the continued influx of foreign visitors.