Travellers look at an arrivals board after arriving at the international terminal of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on October 11, 2022, as Japan reopened to foreign travellers after two-and-a-half years of Covid restrictions. - AFPPIX: Japan on Tuesday removed its cap on daily arrivals and its ban on individual, non-prearranged trips as it seeks to revive the country’s struggling inbound tourism sector by easing its Covid-19 border controls.
The relaxation of border controls is “meant to further facilitate international exchanges between our country and overseas while taking advantage of a weak yen, and it is beneficial for Japan’s socioeconomic activities” Kyodo reported Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said. Japan’s border control measures have been criticized by tourism, entertainment and other industries at home and abroad for being too stringent and prolonged, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has vowed to bring Japan’s entry procedures in line with other Group of Seven nations.
In 2019, prior to the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, a record 31.9 million tourists visited Japan, with over 2 million arriving each month. The estimated monthly figure for August this year was 169,800, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation. The new domestic travel campaign targeting Japan residents was launched to help regional economies that relied heavily on tourism. It is subsidised by the central government but prefectural governments that are implementing the campaign can also contribute with their own subsidies.
Prefectural governments can also request the central government remove them from the list of participating areas, but most have yet to set criteria to do so as they are keen to attract travelers.