It’s the decision that we are all waiting for!
Japan is set to re-open its borders to visa-free tourists as soon as October 2022, according to Nikkei Asia. The final decision has not been taken yet but the official announcement is likely to come from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the next couples of days.
Japan is currently allowing tourists to enter the country only if they arrange their trip through a travel agency. There’s also a daily entry cap of 50.000 people that is still applicable until today.
Prime Minister Kishida is set to completely remove these 2 rules and go back to pre-pandemic requirements. But travellers may still need to meet certain conditions to enter the country like being fully vaccinated for example.
As you probably know, Japan is facing a challenging economical crisis and the yen has reached a record low value. Therefore, Japan is in urgent need of a boost that could come from tourism.
The low value of the Japanese yen could actually be very beneficial for foreign travellers too. Indeed, a low yen could significantly boost travellers’ buying power and make a trip to Japan less expensive!
On this subject, Kishida said Wednesday during a meeting of the government’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy:
“It’s important for us to work to strengthen Japan’s earning power, taking advantage of the current yen weakness.”
It’s important to note that this decision will also depend on the COVID-19 situation in Japan and in the world. Indeed, Japan faced a peak of infections this summer but the number of new cases are now decreasing rapidly. If this trend continue, you will likely be able to visit Japan visa-free by this fall.
Autumn is actually one of the best season to visit the land of the rising sun. Check out for example our list of the best autumn leaves spots in Japan here!