Coronavirus: Japan plans to scrap nearly all Covid curbs for vaccinated tourists; New Zealand ditches most Covid rules

Japan plans to abandon daily limits on foreign tourists, scrap visa restrictions and allow individual travellers without travel agency bookings

Elsewhere, New Zealand has ditched most of its Covid rules, such as a requirement to wear face masks indoors, as it learns to live with the virus

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Tourists clad in traditional Japanese dress take pictures in front of the Kaminarimon gate of Sensoji temple in Asakusa, downtown Tokyo, last week. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:06pm, 12 Sep 2022Updated: 1:48pm, 12 Sep 2022

Japan is looking to scrap most of its Covid-related restrictions on foreign tourists, including ending visa requirements and allowing individual tourism ahead of the autumn travel season, broadcaster FNN said.

The restrictions are set to be lifted for tourists who have had three vaccine doses or provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test, according to the Fuji News Network, which did not specify where it got the information. The government is also planning to abandon its daily limits on entry from overseas, currently set at 50,000, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may make the final decision as soon as this week, the report said.

The easing would also allow individual travellers to visit Japan without travel agency bookings, FNN reported. Japan did not require tourist visas for 68 countries and regions before the pandemic.

Foreign tourists walk through a street in Asakusa, downtown Tokyo, last week. Photo: EPA-EFE

The report came after Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, a close aide to Kishida, told a TV programme on Sunday that the weak yen would help the tourism industry and that the country must not fall behind the rest of the world. He said the restrictions would be lifted at “an appropriate time”. “A weak yen is most effective in attracting inbound tourism,” he said, adding that further steps must be taken to draw in foreign visitors.

Travel stocks rose in Tokyo trading Japan Airlines Co. and ANA Holdings Inc. climbed at least 3.1 per cent intraday, while travel agency HIS Co. gained as much as 3.8 per cent.

The Nikkei newspaper reported earlier that the cap on arrivals from overseas would end by October. While Japan had gradually raised the cap to 50,000, non-resident foreigners are currently required to obtain visas for short-term stays, and may enter for tourism only as part of approved package tours, severely restricting the number of visitors. Last week, it eliminated a requirement for pre-departure Covid-19 tests, easing what have been among the most restrictive border measures among major economies.

Japan had about 246,000 foreign visitors last year, far from a record 31.9 million in 2019.