Japan Letting In Foreign Tourists This Month On Trial Basis

Above, small group tours like G-TOUR will be allowed in Japan this month. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan is starting to allow foreign tourism this month by allowing small organized group tours from several countries, including the United States. I guess you may call this a "tippy-toe" step on Japan's part.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

Japan this month will allow foreign tourists to enter the country for the first time since early 2020, when the border was closed to such travelers to prevent novel coronavirus infections.

On a trial basis, small group tours will be allowed into Japan from four countries: the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore.

“We will move forward with the plan while trying to achieve a balance between socio-economic activities and anti-coronavirus measures,” tourism minister Tetsuo Saito said at a news conference on May 17.

The four countries are not on the Japanese government’s list for tightened border control against novel coronavirus variants. The government also said the infection situations in those countries have stabilized.

The entering tourists must be triple vaccinated and will be accompanied by tour conductors from travel agencies.

It looks like this year's G-TOUR can proceed if all works out with this trial.

To read more, go here.