Interest in Vietnam among Japanese companies continues to grow, boosting the Southeast Asian country to the second spot, right behind China, for the first time in the Japan External Trade Organization's ranking of countries and areas favorable for business expansion, according to a fiscal 2017 survey by the organization.

In the survey, disclosed Wednesday, 37.5 percent of 938 companies that have at least one business base overseas and have plans to expand their global operations chose Vietnam on a multiple-choice questionnaire.

The results were up from 34.1 percent in the fiscal 2016 survey and show the increasing interest in the country, especially compared to the 20.3 percent seen in fiscal 2011.