Japan will open its borders to international visitors from June 10

On May 27, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the country will open its borders to foreign tourists in June. The Japanese government has “opened up” to tourists for the first time since imposing travel restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic about two years ago. However, only package tours are eligible for this new rule.

Travelers from areas with low rates of Covid-19 infection who have received three doses of the vaccine will be exempted from testing and quarantine upon entry.

Japan this week will host small trial package tours from four countries, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. That trial, where only 50 people received special visas, not tourist visas, will end on May 31.

Japan tourism is facing difficulties because of Covid-19

After facing criticism that their strict border control is somewhat too strict for international visitors. Japan began easing restrictions earlier this year and now allows entry of up to 10,000 people a day, including Japanese citizens, foreign students and some business visitors.

Makoto Shimoaraiso, a Cabinet official in charge of anti-pandemic measures, said Japan would double the limit to 20,000 per day, including package tour participants.

The size of the package tours and other details will be finalized after officials evaluate the results of the current pilot tours. Mr. Shimoaraiso said it will be some time before foreign tourists can come to Japan for personal tourism purposes.

Japan’s tourism industry, hit hard by border controls, is looking forward to a return to foreign tourism. The number of daily Covid-19 infections has been on a downward trend in Japan since the beginning of this year, and the government is gradually expanding its economic and social activities.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a visit to London earlier this month that he planned to relax border controls in early June in line with the policy of the other Group of Seven industrialized countries, but gave no further details.

International arrivals are down more than 90% in 2020 from a record 31.9 million years ago, nearly wiping out Japan’s tourism market that was worth more than 4 trillion yen ($31 billion) before the pandemic.