Spending by foreign visitors in Japan is expected to set a new record this year as it reached around 3.28 trillion yen ($29.1 billion) through September at the fastest pace backed by Asian travelers' appetite for consumption, the Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday.

The pace on course to shatter the record 3.75 trillion yen spending set last year has been also sustained by the fastest pace of increase in the number of foreign visitors that exceeded the 20 million mark in mid-September, according to the agency.

Japan aims to attract 40 million visitors from overseas a year by 2020, when the country will host the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as targeting spending by them of 8 trillion yen.

Their spending in the July to September period rose 26.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.23 trillion yen, while average spending per visitor increased 6.6 percent to 165,412 yen.

As South Korean and Chinese travelers in particular spent more in Japan compared with the same period last year, it appears to have pushed up the total spending by foreigners, according to the analysis by the agency.

By country and region, Chinese visitors spent the most at 543.2 billion yen, up 23.5 percent, followed by those from Taiwan at 149.0 billion yen, up 15.3 percent, and those from South Korea at 136.1 billion yen, up 49.9 percent.

The number of foreign visitors from January to September totaled 21,196,400, up 17.9 percent from a year earlier.

Of the total visitors through September, those from China accounted for the largest number at 5.56 million, followed by those from South Korea at 5.22 million and from Taiwan at 3.46 million.