The number of foreign travelers who visited Japan in the January-June period rose 35.8 percent from a year earlier to an estimated 4.20 million, ranking second for a first-half period after a record of about 4.34 million in 2008, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.

The semigovernmental JNTO said the rise was due to an increase in landing slots starting in March at Narita International Airport as well as the government-sponsored "Visit Japan" campaign.

The number of visitors in June alone climbed 59.7 percent from a year earlier to 678,000, marking a year-on-year rise for the eighth straight month.