Starting September 7, Japan has announced that it will remove the requirement for vaccinated travelers to undergo a COVID test to enter the country.
After adopting strict border measures, the country is now gradually allowing non-residents to visit, VisaGuide.World reports.
On the other hand, tourists are still not allowed to enter unless they are part of an authorized tour group and a licensed guide closely watches their every move.
On Wednesday, August 24, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasized that Japan will continue to ease border control measures in stages to enable smooth entry into the same country as the other G-7 countries.
Minister Kishida also revealed that among these steps is the increase of the limit for daily entries, currently at 20,000, while not giving a specific figure.
In addition, according to Japanese Broadcaster NHK, the government is also considering removing the requirement that tourists entering as part of a group tour be accompanied by a guide at all times.
Persons also allowed to enter Japan are international students, some business travelers, and family members of Japanese residents. However, people wishing to travel to Japan must undergo a Coronavirus test within 72 hours before departure to the country, register the result with the government and receive an immigration QR code.
At the same time, Japan requires a nucleic acid amplification test, such as a PCR test, which is actually less accessible and more expensive than rapid home antigen tests.
In May, June Group Tours began after a trial run, but they are subject to many restrictions, including booking a tour with a guide or a government-registered company and purchasing travel insurance.
According to the data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), nearly 120,400 visitors entered Japan in June alone. This means the figures are down by 18 percent compared to May and 14 percent from April. Such data also show that 252 tourists entered the country between June 10 and 30.
The data also reveals that during the month of July, the number increased to 7,900. However, this figure is far from pre-pandemic levels because, in 2019, Japan welcomed a record 32 million foreign tourists and aimed to reach 40 million in 2020.
As the JNTO data show, in the first half of 2022, the total number of foreign travelers entering Japan was 507,600.
Moreover, foreign travel-related spending fell from about $38 billion in 2019 to just under $1 billion in 2021.
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