The Japanese government is planning to ease border rules for Chinese nationals in April, allowing them entry without presenting a COVID-19 test, provided they have received a full vaccination against Coronavirus, indicating the primary vaccination and a third shot – a total of three vaccines.
The measure is introduced in an effort to pave the way for returning Chinese tourists, who were one of the top market sources for tourism in Japan prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and boost the tourism industry as one of the main pillars of the national economy, VisaGuide.World reports.
Currently, Chinese visitors have to undergo a COVID-19 test before coming to Japan and provide proof that they aren’t infected with the virus. Although random testing on arrival may still occur, the Japanese government plans to lift the requirement starting in April.
The number of visitors to Japan has been partially restored in recent months but the national tourism agency said last month’s figure was 46 percent below February 2019.
Japan Tourism Statistics reveals that 1.4 million international travelers visited Japan in January 2023 alone, showing strong indications of tourism recovery. However, compared to pre-pandemic levels, when 2.6 million tourists entered Japan annually, the number of arrivals has yet to be restored.
During the first month of the year, a total of 565,200 arrivals from South Korea were recorded in Japan, followed by tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong with 256,300 and 151,900 arrivals, respectively. In addition, 88,100 arrivals were recorded from the United States and 52,600 from Australia, among others.
Reportedly, the Japanese government was supposed to put an end to the COVID-19 testing requirement for Chinese nationals last month, as the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Hirokazu Matsuno, had stated.
According to the reports, the main factors for the decision to lift the COVID-19 testing requirement for the Chinese were that the current situation regarding the virus in the country is stable and allows such developments to occur.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) data show that China is the second-most affected country by the COVID-19 pandemic with over 99 million cumulative cases, falling behind the United States with 102.6 million infected people.
There were 503 positive cases of COVID-19 in China during the last seven days, in addition to 70 deaths, taking the total number of deaths related to the virus to 120,894.
On the other hand, Japan is experiencing a boom in COVID-19 cases compared to China, as 36,194 positive cases were reported in the last week.
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