The land of the rising sun will start to welcome foreign tourists within weeks.
Japan’s border is going to experiment with opening to small groups of vaccinated tourists as soon as this month.
The limited resumption of inbound tourism will at first be treated as an experiment, and if infections do not spread, the program will be expanded.
News of the trial re-opening comes just a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced in a speech in London that he intends to relax Japan’s border restrictions to help the country’s ailing tourism industry.
According to Mr Kishida, Japan’s entry requirement changes will be implemented in stages and he hopes the re-entry process will be as smooth as it has been for other G7 nations. Until now, the only visitors allowed into Japan have been business travellers, students and technical interns – but no tourists. The Japanese border has also been limited to allowing just 10,000 people per day into the country.
What Japan travel restrictions will be in place?
Those who want to visit Japan must have had three COVID-19 vaccination shots.
They’ll also need to be part of a package tour with a fixed itinerary, according to government officials.
Explore more: japan.travel
