Japan To Reopen Its Borders To First Foreign Tourists In Two Years
Japan's borders are about to reopen to foreign tourists for the first time in two years since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. But the country's prime minister says the easing will be gradual and there will be conditions.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio gave a lecture and said on Thursday, "From June 10th, we will again welcome foreign tourists on package tours that are accompanied by guides."
Ahead of that, Kishida said the current cap on the number of arrivals from overseas will be doubled to 20,000 per day from June 1st.
Officials say starting with package tours will enable authorities to better control the potential spread of the virus.
Under the new policy, countries and regions will be divided into three categories depending on their deemed infection risk. Visitors from the lowest-risk group will be exempt from virus testing and self-quarantine even if they have not been vaccinated for COVID.
Officials expect to announce the classification later this week and say 80 percent of visitors will not face any quarantine measures upon arrival.
Japan is the only G7 member that is still limiting the number of visitors. Business leaders have been calling on the Kishida administration to ease border controls to revive the economy that has been hit hard by the pandemic.
But the daily arrival cap of 20,000, a figure that includes Japanese nationals, is less than a quarter the number of foreign visitors recorded before the pandemic.
The officials say they hope to eventually further ease the travel curbs while ensuring the virus is kept under control.