Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-17 00:26:57|Editor: yan

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TOKYO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Foreign tourists in Japan spent a record-high amount of 4.51 trillion yen (41.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, according to government statistics released on Wednesday.

A report from the Japanese Tourism Agency showed that travelers from Chinese mainland spent the most with 1.54 trillion yen (14.0 billion dollars), followed by visitors from South Korea with 584.2 billion yen (5.37 billion dollars).

Meanwhile, Australians' average spending per person was the highest, standing at 242,000 yen (2223.24 dollars), followed by Spanish travelers.

However, the average spending per tourist decreased 0.9 percent to reach 152,594 yen (1401.87 dollars) in 2018, the agency said.

The survey was conducted on about 35,000 visitors leaving Japan at 21 airports and four ports, according to the agency.

Government data showed that the number of foreign visitors to Japan amounted to 31.19 million last year, up 8.7 percent, the highest ever recorded. Chinese tourists constituted the largest portion with 8.38 million, up 13.9 percent.

The Japanese government aims to increase the number of foreign visitors to 400 million in 2019 and started charging each traveler leaving Japan a 1,000-yen (9.19 dollars) departure tax starting from Jan. 7 as a so-called measure to collect more fees to boost tourism.