The number of South Korean visitors to Japan sharply increased this year despite concerns over nuclear safety there, the state-run tourism agency said Tuesday.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of South Koreans visiting the neighboring country reached 1.56 million in the first seven months of 2013, up 36.6 percent from a year earlier.

The figure is the second-largest after China's 2.25 million, the organization said.

The number of South Korean visitors to Japan has hovered above 200,000 every month this year.

The organization said the weakening Japanese yen and short-haul travels might have helped boost the number.

South Koreans have shunned Japan as a tourist destination on concerns over nuclear safety. A nuclear plant was crippled by the quake and subsequent tsunami that hit the northeastern region of Honshu Island in March 2011. The resulting release of radioactive materials has been classified as the worst nuclear calamity since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. (Yonhap news)