TOKYO ~ The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high of 8,107,684 in 2006, led by tourists from other Asian nations, the government said.

The total was up 8.8 percent from 2005, topping the eight million mark for the first time, the Justice Ministry’s immigration bureau said.

South Korea accounted for 29.2 percent of the total and Taiwan 16.7 percent, the bureau said. China, excluding Taiwan and Hong Kong, shared 12.1 percent and the United States 10.4 percent.