Japan will further relax border controls beginning Sept. 7 by lifting the daily entrance limit to 50,000 and allowing travellers from all nations on package tours to enter without a guide, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday.
Kishida told reporters after returning to work after recovering from a COVID-19 infection that Japan will take more steps to ease restrictions, taking into account virus outbreaks both inside and outside the country, traveller demand, and border controls used by other countries.
‘From the standpoint of taking advantage of the benefits of the weak yen, we’ll loosen border regulations even further,’ Kishida told reporters.
Japan’s yen has dropped to its lowest level in more than two decades versus the US dollar and other major currencies, signalling a potential boom for Japanese industries dependent on overseas travel.
After a more than two-year ban, Japan began a staggered reopening to tourists in June. However, visitor arrivals were limited to 20,000 per day and had to be part of packaged tours accompanied by guides at all times to ensure infection control compliance.
Kishida has promised to put Japan’s border controls, which were among the tightest in the world during the pandemic, in line with those of other wealthy democracies.
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