Japan likely to resume visa-free tourist travel in October

In an interesting turn of events, Japan is likely to lift the previously placed ban on individual tourist visa requirements. This will, most probably, come into practice in October.

At present, foreign visitors visiting Japan are required to book guided tours to get a visa to enter the country. This process is not only time-consuming but highly unappealing as well. But come October, things will hopefully change for tourists wishing to visit the country.

In November last year, Japan had an almost full ban on new foreign visitors to Japan. But this rule eased up a bit in March this year, which saw the Japanese government allowing completely supervised entry for business travellers and international students.

Recently, Japan increased the daily entry cap to 50, 000 from 20,000. Japan is expected to remove the daily entry cap altogether by October. The nation has also removed the compulsory pre-departure COVID-19 tests.

Japan is also expected to resume visa-free entry for short-term travelers from a number of countries. Before this, the old visa rule allowed people from 68 countries to stay in Japan up to 90 days without a visa. The country is expected to resume this rule from October onwards. Though as of now, it is not clear what all countries are on the list.

This new visa rule has come at a perfect time when the Japanese yen is weak. The Japanese government’s vision is to allow more visitors in the country when the Japanese yen is weak so that the visitors can have greater purchasing power.