The number of South Korean visitors to Japan jumped 72 percent in the year’s first half.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, nearly one-point-two million South Koreans visited Japan in the first six months of the year.

The organization said the number of Chinese visitors grew 47 percent to more than 700-thousand and that of Taiwanese visitors increased 37 percent to nearly 623-thousand.

The surging number of foreign visitors to Japan is being attributed, in part, to the ongoing economic recovery.