Japan opened its doors to international tourists in June.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated, "The Japanese government will further ease control measures this June in order to facilitate entry for tourists, similar to other G7 countries."

G7 nations such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US have all announced they are reopening to foreign tourists, although entry rules are not uniform. Meanwhile, the US, Canada, and Germany require entrants to be fully vaccinated, while Italy, France, and the UK do not.

The Japanese Prime Minister asserted that opening up tourism at the right time would help boost the weakening Japanese yen, and that the previously strict entry policies had helped Japan weather the pandemic much better than many other countries. Changes to the country's entry requirements would also be implemented in stages.

Since the end of March, Japan has eased entry restrictions for categories such as diplomats, businesspeople, students, and trainees, but with limited and gradually increasing numbers. Currently, the daily entry limit is only 10,000 people. If the government allows foreign tourists to enter, one proposed solution is to increase the number of permitted entry to 20,000 people per day, with adjustments made depending on the actual situation.

Currently, Japan still applies some strict regulations for entrants from Europe and some Asian countries, such as requiring a negative PCR test certificate, proof of a third vaccination, or quarantine at designated facilities for three days upon entry. However, on a case-by-case basis, quarantine may not be required upon entry.

The Japanese government will monitor the impact of the Golden Week holiday for another two weeks before making a final decision. Japan may also implement a reopening policy starting with small groups of tourists from the end of May, before opening up to tourism in general.

For months now, the Japanese tourism industry has been urging the government to allow more foreign tourists to enter the country. The aim of welcoming tourists back to Japan is to gradually restore normalcy to life, stimulate the recovery of the tourism industry and the economy in general, and contribute to the country's economic growth.

In 2019, tourism contributed $359 billion to Japan's GDP, making it the world's third-largest tourism market after the United States and China. However, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, primarily due to Japan's strict pandemic-related border measures, the number of foreign visitors plummeted from nearly 32 million in 2019 to just 250,000 in 2021.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao