Yes, you heard that right!
Japan is FINALLY planning to open its borders to tourists from next month (June 2022).
This is the news we were all waiting for more than 2 years!
As you probably know, Japan is one of the most strict countries when it comes to traveling during the pandemic. As of now, only Japanese nationals and foreign residents are allowed to enter the country. Exceptions are made for foreign students, technical interns and business travellers but no tourists are allowed.
But on May 5, the Japanese prime minister Kishida shook up the world and declared in London that he plan to relax the borders restrictions from June 2022 to allow tourist to visit Japan. He mentioned that he plans to align the Japanese travel restrictions to the rest of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, UK and US).
“We will further relax control, so that in June it will be possible to enter the country as smoothly as other G7 nations” said prime minister Kishida.
When it’s not clear what will be the travel restrictions to enter Japan as a tourist yet, it’s likely that the country will give priority to fully vaccinated people and authorities will probably require a PCR test prior to the flight. We can also anticipate that the opening will be done in stages, with a limit of daily arrivals for example.
Kishida also added that Japan is currently in a holiday period (Golden Week) and people are expected to travel massively within the country. The government need to analyse the impact of the Golden Week on the circulation of the virus before to take a final decision.
Japan has been very criticised around the world for its strict immigration restrictions and is now facing economic challenges, particularly with the record-low value of the Japanese yen.
Opening the borders may come at a crucial time to revitalise the tourism industry and boost the Japanese economy.
Get ready, it’s coming!