The companies, based in Hanoi, had been accredited by the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam to apply for visas on behalf of Vietnamese tour groups.

However, the firms seriously violated the commitments they had made, the embassy said on its website Monday.

The blacklisted companies are: Viet Tourist Trade and Investment JSC; Vietnam Golden Team International Travel JSC; Nam Cuong Tourism Co., Ltd; New Royal Commercial and Services Co., Ltd; International Golden Bridge Co., Ltd; Victoria Investment Trade and Tourism Corporation Co., Ltd; and Hanoi Entertainment Services Corporation, and the Hanoi branch of Vietravel, a leading tour operator in Vietnam.

While the first seven have completely lost their accreditation, the Vietravel branch was suspended for six months starting July 1.

Currently, there are more than 70 Vietnamese travel firms accredited by the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam to apply for visas on behalf of Vietnamese tour groups in an effort to attract more Vietnamese holiday-goers.

Thanks to visa exemptions, duty-free promotions and ancient tourist attractions, Japan has been attracting increasing numbers of Vietnamese tourists in recent years. Last year, 34,000 Vietnamese visited Japan, up 36.7 percent from a year ago.

The number of Vietnamese residents working and living in Japan also jumped 26.1 percent from a year earlier to 330,835 in 2018, accounting for 8 percent of foreign nationals in the country, the Japan Times reported. It said this growth had propelled Vietnamese to overtake the Filipinos as the third largest minority group in Japan, behind the Chinese and South Koreans.

The growing presence of Japanese companies in Vietnam has also sparked increased interest among younger Vietnamese to study and/or undertake technical training programs in Japan in the hope of landing well-paid jobs, the report said.