In an effort to boost the ailing tourism sector amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Japan has eased the travel restriction for international travellers and also increased the daily entry cap from 20,000 to 50,000.
According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s announcement on Wednesday, the entry of individual tourists will continue to be restricted. The premier also did not outline any changes to the country’s visa restrictions, which place a high bar for entry.
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Japan Eases Travel Restrictions
Beginning on September 7, Japan will relax some of the strictest Covid-19 border controls among major economies by allowing non-guided package tours from all nations and allowing more than twice as many people to enter each day.
Furthermore, visitors to Japan who have received three vaccination shots will be exempt from taking Covid-19 tests 72 hours before departure.
Japan has been working to align its entry protocols, which were once the most stringent among the G7 nations, with those of other major economies.
The Japanese yen is currently at a fresh 24-year low, which the government is urging tourists to take advantage of by visiting the third-largest economy in the world. This will increase their purchasing power while they are here and support the country’s sluggish economic recovery.
Japan is still dealing with the pandemic’s seventh wave and has recently seen record numbers of cases. This is a result of the virus’s highly contagious BA.5 Omicron subvariant still spreading wildly across the country.
The government has not proclaimed a Covid-19 state of emergency or imposed any anti-virus restrictions despite the high infection rate, unlike when infections had previously spiked.