Japan Travel Opens... "Visa-Free Entry Allowed from the 11th of Next Month"

Prime Minister Kishida Expresses Intent... Entry Restrictions Also Lifted
Human Exchange Between Korea and Japan Expected to Revitalize

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that starting from the 11th of next month, the daily entry cap of 50,000 people will be lifted, and visa-free personal travel to Japan for foreigners will be allowed. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Juri Kim] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference in New York, USA, on the 22nd (local time) and announced that from the 11th of next month, regulations will be eased to allow foreigners to enter Japan without a visa.

According to NHK and Mainichi Shimbun, Prime Minister Kishida stated that from the 11th of next month, the daily cap of 50,000 entrants will be lifted and visa-free individual travel to Japan for foreigners will be permitted. Accordingly, visa-free individual travel to Japan for Koreans will also become possible.

Japan abolished visa-free entry for overseas arrivals in March 2020, when the spread of COVID-19 began in earnest.

Since then, business travelers and international students have been conditionally allowed entry since March of this year, and tourists have been allowed entry since June under conditions such as group tours with guides.

From the 7th of this month, those who have completed their third vaccination dose are also exempt from presenting a negative COVID-19 test certificate within 72 hours. Nevertheless, traveler entry was only possible with visa issuance and group tours including guides, making individual sightseeing trips practically impossible.

With Prime Minister Kishida expressing his intention to resume visa-free entry for foreigners, it is expected that personal exchanges between Korea and Japan will be revitalized. According to this visa-free entry policy, it appears that entry restrictions for Koreans will also be lifted.

Additionally, the Japanese government will distribute domestic travel discount coupons to its citizens from the 11th of next month to promote demand in the tourism industry, which has been hit hard. Under the "National Travel Support" policy, up to 8,000 yen (approximately 80,000 won) per citizen will be supported. Accommodation costs will also be subsidized up to 5,000 yen.

Prime Minister Kishida explained, "We will concretize specific policies to achieve the revitalization and growth of the Japanese economy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.