The time has finally come! The government of Japan has announced that it will re-open its borders to international travellers on 11th October 2022.
Japan is re-opening to international travellers!
In May 2022, Japan, one of the most COVID-careful country in the world, announced that it will re-open to tourists in June 2022. However, it was not a full-reopening as international travellers were required to wear masks, have a medical insurance to cover medical expenses in case they contract COVID-19, get a visa and have a tour guide throughout their trip.
This time, it’s different. It finally looks like the Land of the Rising Sun will properly roll out a welcome mat for foreign visitors.
Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, has announced that the country will resume visa-free entry for individual travelers on 11th October 2022. Japan will lift the ceiling on the number of tourists coming into Japan and will also lift the ban on individual travel. The country will not require international travellers to quarantine regardless of their vaccination status and will not require testing too for vaccinated travellers.
For the first time in two years, Japan will return its tourism operation to pre-pandemic norms by eliminating the cap of 50,000 visitors a day. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan allowed visa-free entry for tourists from 68 countries.
Note that international travellers will still have to show a proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19.
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This is great for everyone!
The re-opening of Japan to international travellers is great for travel enthusiasts. Be it China, Japan, India or South Korea, Asian countries in general have been much slower compared to western countries in re-opening their borders to international travellers, so it is amazing to see Japan finally re-open its borders.
The Japanese Yen is currently at a 24-year low and reopening the borders at this time will be the perfect move that Japan could make as this will mean that more international travellers will be lured to visiting the country, given the low conversion rate.
The influx of tourists will also be good for the Japanese economy as a whole. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, two of Japan’s biggest international airlines, will also benefit greatly from this.
What do you think of Japan reopening to international travellers? Let me know in the comments section below.
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