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| Above, inside the massive JR Kyoto Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It appears the Japanese government is now finally realizing that their rules and restrictions on foreign tourists has been one colossal flop and are about to change course.
The changes may be implemented in October.
According to the Japan Times:
The government is planning to allow independent tourists to come to Japan and exempt them from visas if they have been vaccinated three times or submit a pre-arrival test result, Fuji TV reported Monday. It also intends to abolish the daily arrival cap, which is currently set at 50,000, the report added.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly plans to make a decision as early as the end of this week, with an eye to implementing the revisions by October.
If the plan goes ahead, it would mark a major shift in Japan’s border restrictions, which have been conservative compared with those of fellow Group of Seven members. Up until now, the government has eased access to the country in baby steps amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report came after Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara told a Fuji TV program on Sunday that Japan will consider easing all three restrictions — the daily arrival cap, restrictions on independent tourists and visa requirements for short-term visitors from countries previously eligible for a waiver — in the “not-so-distant future.”
“Amid the weakening yen, inbound (tourism) will have the greatest effect” on the economy, Kihara said, also noting that fall is famed as being a good time for eating in Japan. “And there are the autumn leaves and powder snow. There are many foreign visitors who want to come visit Japan.”
Last week, the yen fell to a 24-year low of ¥144 to the dollar.
Japan eased its border restrictions last Wednesday, raising the daily arrival cap from 20,000 to 50,000, allowing nonguided tourists to come to Japan and dropping the requirement for pre-arrival PCR testing for vaccinated travelers.
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