As Japan braces for a surge in foreign visitors in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, pressure is mounting to expedite how visitors are processed at airports.

The nation is already witnessing a deluge of incoming tourists who are taking advantage of the weak yen. The number of foreign arrivals between January and November this year topped 12 million for the first time ever, according to statistics released last week by the Japan National Tourist Organization.

The figure brings the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a step closer to its much-hyped goal of drawing 20 million annual foreign tourists by 2020.