Japan Will Fully Reopen to Visitors in October, According to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the news in a press conference on Thursday.
Though much of the world has reopened with looser (if any at all) COVID-related entry requirements, Japan is one of the last standing countries to turn away travelers. But now, according to Bloomberg, visitors can expect a full reopening by October 11.
Supervised group tours were previously permitted, but restrictions prevented much tourism in the country throughout the pandemic. Now, Japan will welcome back individual travelers, the outlet reports. While the Japanese government has yet to announce the restriction lift formally, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the news in a press conference from New York.
The cap on daily visitors will be rescinded, and visa waivers will resume, Kishida said Thursday morning, noting that Japan "will relax border control measures to be on par with the US."
"We will lift the ceiling of the number of entrants into Japan, lift the ban on individual travel, and lift the ban over visa-less travel," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, according to CNN. "On the same day, we plan to launch a campaign to offer domestic travel discounts and event discounts to residents of Japan and hope that many citizens will take advantage of the offer to support the hotel, travel, and entertainment sectors that have suffered enormous blows during the pandemic."
If the country's tourism looks anything like it did pre-pandemic, US travelers will be able to stay for up to 90 days without a visa.