(Tokyo) Japan announced on Thursday that it will reopen to tourists from 98 countries, including France from June 10, ending more than two years of pandemic-related border closures, but travelers will not be able to enter only in groups.
Posted at 10:09 a.m.
Updated at 9:53 p.m.
The move comes after the government announced last week that it would test small-group tour packages with tourists from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore starting this month.
On Thursday, the Japanese government revised border control rules to resume accepting group travel for tourists from 98 countries and regions where the COVID-19 situation is relatively stable, he said. in a press release.
These countries include France, Great Britain, Spain, the United States, Canada and Malaysia, among others.
Japan will also increase the number of airports accepting international flights to seven by adding Naha in Okinawa (south) and Shin-Chitose in Hokkaido (north).
For most of the pandemic, Japan barred all tourists from entering its territory and allowed only Japanese citizens and foreign residents to return, although the latter were periodically barred.
All arrivals must test negative before traveling to Japan and some must be tested again upon arrival. Triple-vaccinated people from certain countries can avoid the additional test, as well as a three-day quarantine.
Tourist groups will be supervised and will have to ensure that foreign visitors respect the wearing of masks and other measures that have helped keep the number of COVID-19 victims relatively low in Japan.
The total number of people likely to benefit from this gradual and cautious reopening remains unclear, as Japan’s daily entry limit is set to be doubled next month to 20,000 people.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he wants to ease border control measures, but things are expected to go slowly as the public favors the current restrictions.
Before the pandemic, Japan increasingly relied on tourism to support its economy. In 2019, it had welcomed 31.9 million foreign visitors, a new record, and was aiming for the 40 million mark in 2020, the year in which the Tokyo Olympics were originally to be held.
The pandemic had ruined this objective and the Olympics were held behind closed doors in 2021.