Japan to lift restrictions on foreign tourists

Japan to lift restrictions on foreign tourists
A crowd of pedestrians cross Tokyo's central Shibuya crossing Getty Images

Japan may open its doorways back up to vaccinated foreign tourists, after more than two years of closed borders due to the Covid pandemic.

Tourists will be able to go to the country without a visa for australia, and will no longer need to go through a travel company, from 11 October.

A cap on daily landings will also be lifted.

Visitors will nevertheless need to prove their triple vaccination position and submit a negative Covid test cause enter.

The expected influx of travellers will be a welcome enhance to government and local businesses, plus comes as the Japanese yen has slid to its slowest stage against the US dollar in six months.

“Japan will relax border control measures to be on par using the US, ” said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The nation has allowed visitors considering that June, but they needed to be part of tours.

Mr Kishida also announced a domestic journey incentive scheme that will give discounts upon travel, theme park costs, sporting events and live shows. Japanese residents and citizens will be entitled to a 11, 1000 yen (£69; $77) subsidy.

Similar programs have been introduced in other countries’ re-openings in order to encourage locals to invest and stimulate the particular economy. However , like elsewhere, the rise in living costs has been a dominant issue for locals.

The world’s third-largest economy was among the last Asian powerhouses to keep its borders closed due to Covid health concerns.

The death rate may be the lowest among the tour’s wealthiest nations, as the country’s vaccination price is among the highest.

Japan also never required lockdowns or cover up wearing, but many locals readily adopted defenses.

Japan noticed nearly 32 mil foreigners visit within 2019, the last year before the pandemic. And the restrictions on travellers in recent months had precluded a lot of foreigners from going to, reports showed.