The Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida stated that Japan will remove most of its COVID-19 border policies starting October 11th. Which could revive Japan’s travel and tourism industry.
Japan is reinstating visa waivers and visitors will be allowed to enter the country according to the news conference held Thursday in New York. They will also take away any limits on daily arrivals to Japan, according to Kishida.
Japan is ready to remove restrictions due to the amount the value of the yen has decreased since the pandemic. This is the lowest the yen has been in almost 20 years. They also expect tourism to boost their economy from the damage of the pandemic.
Kishida also stated that Japan will be implementing discounts on domestic travel. Before the pandemic, tourism was at an all- time high in Japan. Now many of the businesses in Japan, such as airlines and hotels are excited to have restrictions lifted.
Voters were still concerned about the effects of the virus which is why Kishida has waited this long to lift restrictions. On the other hand business owners complained about the hit the economy was taking due to the extension of the restrictions.
Before the lockdown, Japan allowed visitors from almost 70 countries and regions including the United States. And those visitors could stay for 3 months without a visa. In 2019 Japan had nearly 32 million visitors, which is now down to the 246,000 they had in 2021.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary stated Japan is considering changing the law that enables hotels to turn away guests who refuse to comply with virus control measures. Although there is no law obligating people to use masks in Japan, the people are still in favor.