A Japanese Government spokesperson said that Japan is looking to further relax entry rules “in the not too distant future.”
This update will include dropping the requirement to get a visa and book a travel package through a travel company registered in Japan. These restrictions would be lifted for tourists who have had three vaccines or proof of a negative COVID test.
Japan is also looking to ditch its daily limits on overseas arrivals, currently sitting at 50,000, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida could make the decision as soon as this week, according to local broadcaster FNN.
They also identified that Japan’s upcoming autumn and winter travel seasons typically attract large numbers of visitors, so with October and Japan’s autumn leaf season just around the corner, those in the travel industry are hopeful of an official announcement in the next few weeks.
This news came after deputy chief cabinet secretary Seiji Kihara told a TV program on the weekend that the weak yen could help the Japanese tourism industry and that the country can’t afford to fall behind the rest of the world. Kihara said that restrictions would be removed at “an appropriate time.”
There has already been strong interest among Aussie travellers to head back over to Japan, with Harry Sargant, the marketing manager at InsideJapan, saying there has been “a huge spike in enquiries for visiting Japan over the Dec/Jan school holidays, and of course for cherry blossom season in Mar/Apr 2023.”
This will be the first time since 2019 that overseas visitors will be able to experience cherry blossom season.
