Japan Could Soon Drop Most COVID-19 Rules for Tourists
Japan is working on scrapping all Covid-related restrictions for foreign tourists, including visa requirements ahead of the autumn travel season. It will also likely allow individual tourists to visit, getting rid of the current group requirement.
These restrictions would be lifted for tourists who have had three vaccine doses or provide proof of a negative Covid test, broadcaster FNN said, as reported by Bloomberg.
The government is also planning to abandon its daily limits on entry from overseas, currently set at 50,000. The report said that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may make the final decision as soon as this week.
Some previous reports have suggested that visa requirements could remain in place initially followed by a staged transition.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged earlier this year to make Japan as easy to visit, by bringing its rules in line with other Group of Seven nations. But the reopening has been slow, with the daily entry limit being loosened in stages and tour groups initially required to be chaperoned at all times.
Japan had about 246,000 foreign visitors last year, a steep decline form the 31.9 million that visited the country in 2019.
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