HONOLULU -- The number of entries for the Honolulu Marathon is up compared to last year with entries from Japan leading the field, event organizers said.

Tourism experts said last year the marathon generated more than $4 million in state taxes.

The Honolulu Marathon is run on the second Sunday each December, and draws more than 20,000 people from around the world, mostly from Japan.

With more than a month to go, the numbers are up overall. So far, 20,411 people have already signed up.

With the weak economy and higher entrance fees for mainland runners the entries from the U.S. mainland are down.

"We did raise the price considerably for the mainland market to lower the price for Hawaii residents. It's not unexpected, the numbers would drop a little," Honolulu Marathon President Jim Barahal said.

There are also more marathons on the mainland and charity participation has dropped off, marathon officials said.

The good news comes from Japan, which has 12,713 entries. The final count for Japan last year was 14,407 entries.

"Japan is our key market in terms of participation and revenue and in terms of economic impact for Hawaii. Numbers running one to two percent ahead of last year, which is really outstanding given everything that's happened last year," Barahal said.

Organizers hope to make a strong finish as the late entries come in.

"We anticipate a similar surge to last year, which would mean the numbers slightly up will stay that way and final count this year will be ahead of last year on race day," Barahal said.

Organizers said they expect to have a little more than 24,000 people running in this year's marathon on Dec. 13.