The number of foreign visitors to Japan in March plunged by 50 percent from a year earlier, following the twin disasters in the month and the subsequent nuclear crisis, local media reported Thursday.

Foreign arrivals dropped 50.3 percent to an estimated 352,800 in the month, the sharpest drop since comparable data began to be compiled in 1961 and the first year-on-year fall since October 2009, Kyodo News reported.

The Japan National Tourism Organization said foreigners may continue to shy away from visiting Japan, if the crisis at the crippled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant drags on.