Japan announced on Thursday, September 22, the lifting of entry restrictions for tourists put in place in 2020 to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that“from October 11, Japan [allait] ease border controls and re-allow visa waiver and individual travel.”
The quota of daily arrivals in the country had been gradually increased since the beginning of the year, and recently stood at 50,000. In June, the Japanese government authorized the return of foreign tourists, but only within the framework of Organized trips. This device had been lightened at the beginning of September to authorize individual stays, but still via a travel agency.
The weakness of the yen, which has lost 20% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year, should make Japan even more attractive for many visitors. However, the archipelago should take time to regain its record level of 31.9 million foreign visitors welcomed in 2019. Tourists from China and Hong Kong, who represented 37% of visitors in 2019, are indeed still subject to to drastic restrictions in their territories.