Japan plans to cancel the upper limit of the immigration and open freely

According to Japanese media reports, Japanese government officials said on the 11th that they will further "loosen" inbound tourists in the "near future", including the restrictions on the number of daily entry, relaxation of visa, and regulations for group tourism. It is reported that the Japanese government may announce relevant entry regulations before the peak tourist season of October to November. Since June this year, Japan has restarted the gate of entry, but because the epidemic prevention regulations are more stringent than other countries, some international tourists are discouraged.

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It will further "loosen" tourists

According to the "Nikkei News" report, Mu Yuancheng, deputy chief of the Japanese cabinet official room, said on the 11th that the Japanese government is re -examining the policy of not more than 50,000 people who are currently implementing. This limit.

In addition to completely canceling the upper limit of overseas entry, Muhara Kiji also stated in Fuji TV program that the Japanese government may cancel other restrictions simultaneously, including exempting some visa regulations for visiting Japan, and no longer required tourists to buy custom travel packages.

Muhara Maki said that Japanese autumn and winter tourism is greatly attractive to international tourists, hoping to welcome more tourists before the maple leaf season from October to November. He also said that Japan should not "lag behind other countries" in attracting foreign tourists, and weak yen will also play a role in attracting tourists.

The Japanese government has officially accepted international tourists since June 10, and then increases the upper limit of the number of people in a single day in stages. In the early days of opening, only tourists are only targeted at tourists, and there are many restrictions, including the whole process, accompanied by tour guides, and wearing masks throughout the process.

After the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida claims to align with the members of the Seven Groups, Japan has further "loosen" the entry regulations recently.

From September 7, the Japanese government has increased the upper limit of a single day from 20,000 to 50,000. At the same time, Japan has also canceled tourists who need to be accompanied by tour guides to travel to Japan.

However, this does not mean that Japan is open and free. Visitors still need to book a "travel package" through travel agencies, which are equivalent to domestic customized travel packages. Kyosuke said that although more choices of tourists have more choices on catering and attractions, they can also make a group, but they still need to buy a "air ticket+hotel" fixed package provided by the travel agency. Accompany. Such restrictions are usually unpopular.

Disagreement

Public opinion believes that Japan is hoping to seize the time window of the autumn tourism season and the slowing time of the epidemic to help weak local tourism recovery.

Before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, Japan had vigorously promoted the economic strategy of tourism rejuvenation. The number of entry tourists in 2019 reached a record of 31.9 million. However, since the epidemic, Japan has taken strict entry measures, which has caused the tourism industry to have plummeted. In 2021, there were only 246,000 entry tourists in Japan.

Nomura Comprehensive Research Institute reported that in 2019, admission tourists brought an economic effect of 4.8 trillion yen to Japan. The upper limit of the number of people in the country in September is expected to bring a considerable economic effect to Japan. Due to the depreciation of the yen, the exchange rate of the yen against the US dollar has fallen to the lowest level in 24 years, and the consumption of entry tourists may be more "big" than before the epidemic.

However, there are still large differences in Japan in Japan.

According to the "Nikkei News", some officials suggested to cancel the three major restrictions of visa, the upper limit of the number of entry, and the "travel package" at the same time. However, some officials believe that the upper limit of the number of people should be canceled first, and then the other two should be relaxed according to the situation.

In this regard, people in the Japanese tourism industry criticized that although Japan intends to follow the footsteps of Europe and the United States and let go of border control, it has fell behind. This means that the days of truly welcoming the recovery of tourism will still be postponed.

In terms of visas, before the epidemic, citizens in nearly 70 countries and regions including all EU countries, the United States, and South Korea can go to Japan in the short term by visa -free. But now, citizens in these countries need to apply for visas to Japan.

In terms of tourism experience, the "travel package" must be scheduled for many international tourists. According to the Kyodo News Agency, only 7%of immigration tourists choose to travel or customize in Japan before the outbreak.

Reuters said that in July of this year, only about 8,000 tourists went to Japan to travel, which was in sharp contrast to the number of 80,000 tourists a day before the epidemic.

However, not everyone welcomes the return of international tourists.

Earlier this year, a poll result of the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) showed that 65%of the respondents supported the maintenance of immigration restrictions. The epidemic is increasing the vicious psychology of some Japanese people. Some people think that cities without foreign tourists are becoming more beautiful.

The Kyodo Society pointed out that the Japanese government, which is responding to the seventh wave of epidemic, also believes that it cannot completely relax the restrictions on international tourists. This means that Japan may have to continue to look for the best position of balance between welcoming tourists' return and reducing the risk of new crowns.

Source: Shangguan News reporter Qiu Wenhan

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