Japan Reopens For Foreign Unguided Tourists But Some Restriction Still Apply

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Japan continues its gradual reopening for tourism by allowing foreigners to enter without a guided tour starting from midnight on 7th September 2022 local time. The daily arrivals cap will increase from 20,000 to 50,000 tourists.

Until now it still has one of the more restrictive entry measures with mandatory PCR tests, visa applications and a relatively low cap on tourist entries. In addition, tourists must be booked on close-guarded pre-arranged tours.

Some entry requirements still remain

Visas will still be required and purchase a packaged tour but will not need to be supervised on the trip. The exact requirements of an unsupervised "packaged tour" is not fully clear though this is due to be announced shortly.

Fully-vaccinated travellers, which must include a booster dose, will no longer need to provide a negative PCR test up to 72 hours before departure. Unvaccinated must continue to do so.

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Weak Yen brings hope for Japanese tourism

The Yen is trading at its weakest against the U.S. dollar for over 20 years and several major global currencies which gives its tourism and hospitality industries hope for an accelerated recovery.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: "From the standpoint of making use of merits from the weak yen, we'll ease border controls further."

Further information can be found at the Japan National Tourism Organization’s website.