Japan will further loosen sanitary restrictions on its borders against Covid-19 on the entry of foreign tourists who can revisit the archipelago with a guide. The announcement was made this Wednesday (31) by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
But the requirement to book accommodation through a travel agency will remain in effect, Kishida indirectly said at a press conference: “We will allow tourists from all over the world to enter the country through organized excursions, but without a guide.” said the prime minister.
The new measure will take effect from September 7, when the daily quota of arrivals to Japan will also increase from currently 20,000 to 50,000 people.
Last week, the Japanese government announced that it will no longer require travelers who have been vaccinated three times to present a negative test for Covid-19 upon arrival in the country.
“As international trade around the world intensifies again, Japan will join the bandwagon,” Kishida said, explaining that he wants to “take advantage” of the current devaluation of the Japanese currency, the yen, which could make the country particularly attractive. lots of foreign visitors.
“We want to continue to relax border restrictions in the future,” said the prime minister, who has just left a term, “taking into account the internal and external infectious situation, the level of travellers’ demand, and other countries’ border measures,” said in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 on August 21.
Japanese authorities have never implemented population isolation during the pandemic, and the number of Covid-19-related deaths in the archipelago (around 39,000 since the start of 2020) is relatively low compared to many other countries.
More than 64% of the Japanese population received three doses of coronavirus vaccine. The index reaches almost 91% in the 65 and over category.
However, Japan has adopted and maintained strict restrictions on its borders since 2020 and only started accepting foreign tourists in June and for now only accepts those traveling with guided tour packages.
Before the pandemic, the Japanese archipelago was a popular and rapidly growing tourist destination and a major source of income for the local economy, with a record 31.9 million foreign visitors in 2019.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
