Japan opens its doors to tourists after two years

On June 7, the Japanese government said that foreign tourists visiting Japan will have to wear face maskbuy private health insurance and be supervised during your stay.

According to the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), only tourists traveling on a package tour will be allowed to enter the country during the initial phase of reopening, from June 10. Tour company guides traveling with tourists will have to make sure they wear masks.

“Tour guides should regularly remind tour participants of the necessary infection prevention measures, including wearing and removing masks, at each stage of the tour,” Reuters reported. reported by the JTA.

“Even outdoors, wearing a mask should continue in situations where people are conversing in close proximity,” according to the JTA’s announcement.

Japan has imposed some of the strictest border controls in the world for the duration of the pandemic, barring most non-residents from entering.

As most of the rest of the world has opened up after the lockdowns due to COVID-19Japan is also relaxing its rules. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to take appropriate border opening measures.

The government has recently begun to relax regulations on mask wearing, although mask-wearing is common in the country. Wearing masks to prevent the spread of germs and pollen was common in Japan before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, Japan conducted “test tours” with groups of about 50 people, most of them travel agents, but one of the participants tested positive for COVID-19 .

James Jang, a travel agent from Australia who took part in one of the pilot tours, said the rules would likely put some people out of work now.

“Customers will be comfortable with wearing a mask indoors, but wearing a mask for 24 hours will cause discomfort. Also, the cost of having a tour guide supervise during the stay can make customers hesitant, so they may wait until there is more flexibility,” Jang told Reuterss.

In 2019, Japan welcomes 31.9 million won foreign tourist with visitor spending reaching 4.81 trillion yen ($36.28 billion).