Japan will allow non-guided package tours from all countries from September 7 and raise the daily arrival cap to 50,000, a significant step toward the full resumption of tourism.
The moves announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, however, do not allow for entry of individual tourists. The premier also didn’t lay out any changes for visa restrictions that place a high bar for entering the country.
Kishida said the daily entry cap would be raised to 50,000 people from the current 20,000. He also said he wanted to ease border controls to spur visits from people trying to take advantage of a weak yen, eventually loosening border restrictions to the same level as other members of the Group of Seven industrialised nations.
Kishida’s government began to allow limited numbers into the country from June, subject to strict rules such as being part of a package tour with a guide and wearing face masks. Japan had about 246,000 foreign visitors last year, a far cry from the record 31.9 million in 2019.
Source: Bloomberg
