Bangkok, Aug. 5 -- The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports aims to draw at least 1 million Japanese visitors to Thailand by the end of this year.

Polphum Wipatphumiprathet, a close aide to Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanich, said on August 4 that the ministry is exploring ways to attract more Japanese tourists, and plans to discuss how to bolster tourism cooperation with relevant Japanese authorities.

Polphum said that Japan has a population of 124 million and is the world's fourth-largest economy, adding that Japanese visitors are also widely considered high-quality tourists.

The number of Japanese visitors to Thailand reached about 800,000 last year, he said, adding in the first half of this year, out of 17.5 million fore...