Is Japan Open to Tourists?

Japan has been gradually opening its borders to foreign travelers since June. The country has started welcoming foreign residents, foreign students, technical trainees, and international talents. But is Japan open for tourists?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Japan is not yet open to foreign tourists.

However, with the recent developments, it seems the government is near-ready to fully reopen its borders soon, and that might include international tourists.

There’s no word yet as to when Japan will be welcoming leisure travelers. But it’s been working really hard to allow more and more people into the country before the Tokyo Olympics kicks in.

13,000 Foreign Visitors in September

In the meantime, an estimated 13,700 foreigners entered Japan in September according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Although this is down by 99.4% compared to last year’s 2.3 million visitors, the arrival of foreigners in September surpassed that of the preceding six months below 10,000 arrivals.

Most foreign travelers were from China (3,000), Vietnam (2,700), South Korea (1,400), and Thailand (1,000). A huge percentage of these arrivals were foreign students and technical interns who had lived in Japan before the pandemic and reentered the country.

As Japan lifted the travel ban on 159 countries and territories worldwide, it’s expected that foreign arrivals will increase by a significant number in the following weeks and months. Japan has already eased business travel with Singapore and South Korea. The government continues to hold discussions with several other countries to consider easing entry restrictions.

Japan to Ease 3-Day Business Trips

Meanwhile, Japan is looking into making the self-isolation requirement for inbound business travelers to 72 hours only. The government is eyeing to implement this new travel regulation to travelers from 30 countries and territories where the coronavirus outbreak is under control.

The Japanese government might implement this new plan starting in November.

Apart from the 72-hour quarantine requirement, business travelers will also be required to submit an itinerary and activity plans with the results of virus tests.