Japan will officially reopen to independent foreign travelers in three weeks, prime minister announces

There’s good travel news for local residents too.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is currently in New York, where he gave a speech at the United Nations general assembly regarding Security Council reform. There was also intense speculation that Kishida would take the opportunity of his overseas trip to officially announce the reopening of Japan to individual foreign tourists, and that expectation was correct.

In a press conference held Thursday morning, Kishida announced that Japan will be completely eliminating daily limits on the number of inbound international travelers to Japan, lifting bans on individual travelers, and removing visa requirements for visitors from countries which were exempted prior to the pandemic. All of these changes, Kishida said, will go into effect on Tuesday, October 11, just a little over three weeks from now.

Kishida also said that a travel discount/reimbursement program for domestic Japanese travelers, as well as one for entertainment events, will be launched on the same day, with further details to come at the end of this month.

Sources: NHK News Web, Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Top image: Pakutaso
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