Japanese tourist dies climbing Uluru

A Japanese tourist has died while attempting to climb Uluru in the Northern Territory.

The 76-year-old man collapsed at the sacred indigenous site yesterday afternoon and could not be revived by medical staff, the NT police said in a statement.

He is the 37th person to die while climbing the rock.

"A helicopter had to be utilised to retrieve this person and take him back to Yulara clinic, but unfortunately he passed away," Duty Superintendent Shaun Gill told the ABC.

The last person to die on Uluru was in 2010 when a 54-year-old Victorian man passed away after descending from the peak.

Climbing will be banned on Uluru from October next year after the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board voted unanimously in favour of the decision.

Traditional owners of the land have long encouraged visitors not to climb Uluru out of cultural respect for the sacred site.