Japan to lift Covid restrictions on foreign tourists

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Japan announced on Thursday that it would lift strict Covid restrictions on foreign tourists, reopening borders after two and a half years.

Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the pandemic has disrupted the free movement of people, goods and capital that has helped the nation prosper.

"But from October 11, Japan will relax border control measures to be on par with the United States, and resume visa-free travel and individual travel," said Kishida, who is in the city for the United Nations General Assembly. .

Japan, as well as China, have resisted continued tight restrictions on visitors as much of the world has moved away from the pandemic.

But unlike China, Japan never imposed a strict lockdown during the crisis.

Tourists coming to Japan will benefit from a weak yen, which has fallen so low against the dollar that the Ministry of Finance intervened in the currency market on Thursday for the first time since 1998.

The return of the visa waiver program suspended in March 2020 will restore ease of access which saw a record 31.9 million foreign visitors to the country in 2019.

As of June, Japan has allowed tourists to travel in groups accompanied by guides, a requirement that has been further relaxed to include self-guided package tours.

The cautious approach to reopening was deliberate, said James Brady, head of Japan analysis at US consultancy Teneo.

Kishida "took office a year ago knowing that the perceived mismanagement of the pandemic had been a key factor in undermining public confidence" in his predecessor's government, Brady told AFP .

"He was extremely careful not to repeat these mistakes."

Japan has recorded about 42,600 total deaths from the coronavirus, a rate much lower than many other countries, and 90% of residents aged 65 and over have received three vaccines.

There is no law requiring people to wear masks, but they are still nearly ubiquitous in public places like trains and shops, and many Japanese people are willing to wear masks when sick even before the pandemic.

On the streets of Tokyo, the public hailed the announcement.

"I think it's a good thing to gradually bring foreign tourists back here," said Michio Kano, 76, who runs a bar.

He called for this decision to be followed by a relaxation of the anti-Covid rules.

"You can't relax the rules on one side for foreigners and still say to the Japanese, 'Don't do this or that,'" he said.

Katsunori Mukai, 28, said Japan should welcome tourists as long as there is no increase in cases.

"It's true that here we still have the culture of wearing a mask and other things, but I think that if there is no serious danger of catching a serious illness in general, the people can come as many times as they want," he said.

While the return of mass tourism is expected to provide a "mild boost" to the Japanese economy, the benefits will likely be limited by China's zero Covid policy, analyst Brady said.

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"A lot of the pre-pandemic economic benefits came from the high number of Chinese visitors coming and spending a lot of money on tech (and) cosmetics," he explained.

But "currently, Chinese citizens are facing their own travel restrictions at home and will not be traveling to Japan in large numbers."

There is pent-up demand for travel to the country, however, according to Olivier Ponti, vice president of information for travel analytics firm ForwardKeys.

“Japan travel searches peaked this year in late August,” and while flight bookings were only 16% of 2019 levels in early September, “we expect bookings to increase when visa rules are scrapped, Ponti said.

Demand from Europe could still be subdued" due to the rising cost of living in Europe caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis and rising fuel prices pushing up travel costs by plane," said Liz Ortiguera, CEO of Pacific Asia. Travel association.

AFP