(TTG China/Comprehensive) On the evening of May 26, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the reception of foreign tourists to Japan will resume from June 10. This is the first time in more than two years that Japan has opened to inbound tourists following the global outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
According to comprehensive Japanese media reports, the Japanese government has doubled the daily limit on the number of people entering the country from the current 10,000 to 20,000 from June 1. In order to prevent the spread of the new crown epidemic, the target group will initially be limited to tour groups accompanied by a guide, etc., which are easy to manage the itinerary. Japan currently only allows international flights to take off and land at 5 airports including Haneda, and Kishida said that it will restart at New Chitose and Naha airports in June.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, countries and regions in the “blue” category with the lowest risk of infection in the classification of quarantine measures, including Japanese returning home, are exempted from testing upon entry and home isolation. As of the 26th of this month, there were 98 countries and regions in the “blue” category, including the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, equivalent to regarding 80% of the immigrants. 99 countries and regions such as Saudi Arabia and Ukraine are classified as “yellow group”. Tourists from these countries and regions need to have proof of vaccination for three doses of the new crown vaccine when entering, and then they can be exempted from new crown testing and isolation (except business travelers); The “red group” currently includes Pakistan, Fiji, Albania, and Sierra Leone. Inbound tourists from these countries still require new crown testing and isolation. The Japanese government will adjust the target countries and regions at any time.
Statistics show that the number of visitors to Japan exceeded 30 million in 2018. However, in February 2020, it decreased by 58.3% year-on-year due to border crossing measures and cross-border movement restrictions in various countries accompanying the new crown epidemic. After April, the historic plunge of 99.9% continued.