Japan Set to Welcome Foreign Tourists Again

After a long gap of two years, Japan is now all set to welcome foreign tourists from 98 countries! This is the most crucial day in the COVID-19 travel history of the country.
Japan appears to be one of the few countries in the world that adheres to highly tight virus regulations. However, a few restrictions will remain in place, such as the requirement of entering the country as part of a tour group.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the countries have been divided into three risk zones: red, yellow and blue. These will determine whether visitors can skip quarantine measures. These will determine if visitors are exempt from quarantine.
The decision comes after Japan announced that they would allow people from the United States, Australia, Thailand, and Singapore to participate in small group tours.

In the waning days of COVID-19, the country also barred international visitors from attending the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, as of June 1, the Japanese government has set a daily limit of, 20000 foreign entries. Foreign tourists will be able to enter in tour groups starting on June 10th.

To avoid any mishaps, tour groups will be responsible for ensuring that visitors entering the country maintain their mask-wearing and COVID-19 measures.

Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has stated that he wants to make things easier for travellers, although any changes are expected to take some time. In 2019, Japan hosted a total of 31.9 million international travellers, a new high.