TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of foreign visitors to Japan surpassed 30 million in the period between January and October, marking the fastest pace ever, and is poised to break the annual record amid a boom in inbound tourism, government data showed Wednesday.

The total stood at 30,192,600 during the 10-month period, crossing the 30 million threshold for the first time since 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.

In October alone, foreign visitors totaled 3,312,000, up 31.6 percent from a year earlier and the highest ever for a single month.

The surge has been driven by a weak yen and increased airline routes to Japan, making it almost certain that the annual record of around 31.88 million marked in 2019 will be topped.

By country and region, 732,100 people visited Japan from South Korea last month, up 16.0 percent from a year earlier, according to the organization's preliminary data.

Those from China increased by about 2.3 times to 582,800 due to a major holiday in the country. Taiwan ranked third with 478,900 visitors, up 12.7 percent, followed by the United States at 278,500, up 31.5 percent.