TOKYO, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of visitors from South Korea to Japan plummeted in August from a year earlier owing to deteriorating ties between both countries over wartime and trade issues, the government here said in a report on Wednesday.

According to the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), 308,700 South Korean visitors came to Japan in the recording period, with the number tumbling 48 percent from a year earlier.

In August, visitors to Japan from mainland China topped the inbound list, rising 16.3 percent on year to 1,000,600 people, JTA said, with those from China's Taiwan coming in second at 420,300 visitors, up 6.5 percent from a year earlier.

South Korea ranked third, with visitors from China's Hong Kong coming in fourth at 190,300 people, dropping 4 percent on year, the agency also said.

The overall number of visitors to Japan in the recording month dropped 2.2 percent, JTA said, to 2,520,100 people, with the figure retreating for the first time since September last year.

In September last year, western Japan was pummeled by a powerful typhoon and Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido was hit by a devastating earthquake of 6.7-magnitude.

The quake topped out at the maximum 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in some areas and caused numerous mudslides and widespread damage, with both natural disasters significantly impacting Japan's tourist industry.