Japan slated to reopen its borders to international visitors in June

Group tours are up for consideration for foreign tourism since these are easier for travel agencies to manage

Nikkei reported on Monday that Japan might start accepting foreign visitors in June. In two weeks, the government will be making its final decision on whether it will be lifting the ban on tourist visas. This will be at the same time that the number of coronavirus infections during the Golden Week holidays will be revealed.

Group tours are up for consideration for foreign tourism since these are easier for travel agencies to manage.

In an announcement made while visiting London, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “We will further relax controls, so that in June it will be possible to enter the country as smoothly as other G7 nations.”

Because admission criteria differ among G7 countries, his statement remains unclear.  For example, the United States, Canada, and Germany all require full vaccinations for foreign leisure travelers, whereas Italy, France, and the United Kingdom do not, according to Forbes.

Kishida appears to have determined that now is the perfect time for Japan to follow suit, and that tourism will help to support the weakening Japanese yen.

More: Japan to ease border controls for students and businesspeople in March

In a report by The Japan Times on 27 April, private-sector members of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy hoped the government would ease its daily limit on entries and ease additional immigration procedures. 

The four private-sector members, including Masakazu Tokura, head of Keidanren, said the government should “gradually resume” accepting travellers to address the country’s dwindling account surplus, which was exacerbated by a drop in the country’s travel balance.

In 2021, the travel balance was JPY200 billion (USD 1.5 billion) in surplus, down from JPY2.7 trillion (USD20.7 billion) in 2019.

Japan eventually increased the daily cap on arrivals from 7,000 to 10,000 on 10 April in response to criticism of the country’s tight border procedures. Only businesses, technical interns, and students are allowed to visit at the moment.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].