Chinese tourists will be first in line for Japan’s electronic visas

Online system will come into use in April 2020 in an effort to boost visitor numbers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

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Tourists in the Ginza shopping area of Japan. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:36pm, 14 Oct 2018Updated: 10:09pm, 14 Oct 2018

The Japanese government will introduce an electronic system for tourist visa applications in April 2020 in an effort to help achieve its goal of 40 million inbound visitors by that year, government sources said on Sunday.

The online system will first be available to Chinese tourists for single-entry visa applications and then to travellers from other countries, the source said. Tourist visas for Chinese visitors accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all the visas issued in 2017, according to the foreign ministry.

The government plans to add other types of visas to the new system.

The electronic visa is designed to simplify the application process, reduce workload at diplomatic missions and tighten immigration control, with visa data to be shared with airlines, ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Visitors will be able to apply for tourist visas online through travel agencies.

Japan had a record 28.7 million foreign visitors in 2017, up 19.3 per cent from the previous year, and their spending last year rose 17.8 per cent to an all-time high of 4.42 trillion yen (US$39 billion).

Chinese tourists will be first in line for Japan’s electronic visas

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Online system will come into use in April 2020 in an effort to boost visitor numbers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Online system will come into use in April 2020 in an effort to boost visitor numbers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics