Japan has had strict entry requirements in place for non-nationals since March 2020 and only recently has allowed business travelers and students to arrive on visas.
There has been chatter that the country would welcome a small number of visitors on arranged tours this month and start to reopen for individual tourists in stages from June.
Now, Japan is doubling the daily arrivals cap from 10,000 to 20,000 in June, including returning Japanese nationals.
Some of the lawmakers of the ruling party are proposing allowing international visitors who are fully vaccinated, including boosters, to enter the, but the prime minister prefers opening up in stages.
Here’s an excerpt from Kyodo:
Japan’s government is arranging to double the cap on arrivals from overseas to 20,000 people per day in June, government sources said Wednesday.
The relaxation is expected to go ahead following an examination of airport quarantine infrastructure and the state of domestic infections after Japan’s Golden Week holidays that ended last Sunday.
Additionally, the government is considering accepting tourists by trialing small-scale tours as soon as this month, with an eye to expanding reception of foreign leisure travelers in stages.
Japan, which adopted the strictest pandemic border measures among Group of Seven nations, has been under pressure to reopen.
Conclusion
It appears that Japan will start slowly opening up for fully vaccinated tourists sometime this summer, but I would assume that the number allowed in will be pretty low at first.
Business travelers with an invitation from Japanese firms can currently enter with a visa, and the same applies to international students who enter to study or do vocational training.
You must remember that although Japan removed most travel restrictions from non-nationals, they simultaneously instituted visa requirements for all.
