TOKYO: Japan welcomed more than 2 million visitors for an eighth consecutive month in January, official data showed on Wednesday, setting the stage for a potential record year for tourism.

The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 2.69 million last month, down slightly from 2.73 million in December, data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) showed.

Arrivals in December were an all-time high for that month and capped a pandemic recovery year that saw a little more than 25 million visitors enter the country.