Japan To Receive Small Group Tours On Trial Basis
The Japanese government plans to accept small group tours from four countries in a trial this month. The program is intended to be a prelude to a full reopening of the country to foreign visitors starting in June.
Japan has generally barred the entry of tourists from overseas since early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tourism Minister Saito Tetsuo said on Tuesday the test tours will include people from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore. He says infections by the virus's variants are under control in those countries. All the visitors will need to be triple-vaccinated.
The Japan Tourism Agency will study the trial's results to come up with ways of ensuring that foreign tourists take COVID precautions and with responses for when visitors become infected.
Agency officials plan to compile guidelines for the tourism industry based on the findings.