W. Japan airport records highest number of foreign travelers

The number of foreign passengers traveling through Kansai International Airport in the western Japanese prefecture of Osaka has reached its highest level since the air hub's opening in early 1990s, local press reported on Wednesday.

The airport saw the biggest share of foreign nationals among all travelers who used the terminal, more than 26 percent, in 2013, according to Nippon Hoso Kyokai, Japan's public broadcaster.

The report said that the total number of foreign passengers who traveled on international flights to and from the airport was 4. 638 million, up 29 percent from the previous year.

The report cited airport officials as saying that the high figures are mainly brought about by the increase in international routes served by low-cost carriers (LCCs), which the airport has aggressively lured so as to compete with other airports in Japan, while pointing out that the weaker yen plus the relaxed visa requirements prompt more international guests to visit Japan, especially from Southeast Asian countries.

The airport has announced that within a few years it will construct a third terminal building and related facilities to attract more LCCs, including China's Spring Airlines, which will launch its first daily Kansai-Shanghai service in March.