Officials are reportedly considering lifting the current daily cap of 50,000 arrivals, which includes returning residents, and returning to visa-free travel. A rule requiring individual travelers to book through travel agencies could also be lifted, according to media reports. Japan experienced a tourism boom in the years before the pandemic began in early 2020, but has since imposed some of the strictest travel restrictions in the world. Late last year he introduced a near-universal travel ban amid a global surge in infections from the highly contagious Omicron variant, drawing criticism from workers, students and others who found themselves effectively barred from the country as other G7 nations began to open up. . Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has come under pressure from businesses to ease restrictions to help the world’s third-largest economy recover from the pandemic, Kyodo news agency reported. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said this week that the government was trying to ease Covid-19 restrictions while maintaining a balance between preventing the spread of infection and promoting social and economic activities. Japan last week raised the daily cap on incoming travelers from 20,000 to 50,000, and travelers who have been vaccinated at least three times are no longer required to take a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure. Officials hope the end of restrictions will boost visitor numbers, although residents in some popular destinations are wary of a return to the “tourism pollution” that plagued their neighborhoods before the pandemic. Just 245,900 foreign visitors entered Japan last year – the lowest number since records were kept in 1964. In 2019, by contrast, a record 31 million foreign visitors arrived, while the government set an ambitious target of 60 million by the end of this decade. Amid warnings from analysts of subdued consumer spending, officials are hoping tourists will be drawn by the weak yen, which recently fell to historic lows against the dollar. A full resumption of inbound travel could trigger 6 trillion yen ($42 billion) in tourism spending, according to an estimate by Barclays Securities reported by the Nikkei business daily.
