In order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and balance social and economic activities, border measures have been eased from the 7th.
What is the maximum number of immigrants?
What procedures are required when entering Japan?
What is the economic impact?
Here's a detailed summary of the changes we've made and how we're reacting to impacted tourist destinations.
Border measures What will change?
First, the daily limit on the number of people entering the country was raised from 20,000 to 50,000.
All immigrants, including Japanese, will be exempted from submitting a negative certificate, provided that they have completed their third vaccination.
In addition, regarding the entry of foreigners for sightseeing purposes, tours without a tour conductor are permitted.
"Individual travel" is not permitted
On the other hand, airline tickets and accommodations are to be arranged by travel agencies, and individual travel is still not permitted.
A visa remains mandatory for all visitors.
The government plans to consider raising the limit on the number of people entering the country and relaxing the conditions for accepting foreigners.
Voices of welcome at the airport for 'simplification of procedures'
At Narita Airport on the 7th, among those who arrived from overseas, those who had completed the third vaccination headed for immigration without submitting the negative certificate that had been required for quarantine.
A woman who returned from Malaysia, who was visiting her daughter and grandchildren, said, "I have not been able to go to see my grandchildren for the first time because of the time and cost of the local inspection, but I am able to meet my grandchildren for the first time with this exemption. I was able to spend time with my family until the last minute, and now it will be easier for me to go abroad like before.”
Souvenir shops expect an increase in tourists
At the souvenir shop "Nakamise Nakatsuka" in the "Nakamise Shopping Street" in Asakusa, Tokyo, after the reopening of accepting foreign tourists in June this year, foreigners such as sweets with a texture like mochi and various flavors of konpeito It means that popular products have been enhanced.
However, in addition to being limited to tour customers, sales from foreign tourists did not increase as much as expected, probably because tour conductors were required to accompany the entire journey, so we are expecting this relaxation. I was.
Yoshimi Nakatsuka, who manages the store, says, "I'm trying to find a way to sell attractive products. I hope that the number of foreign tourists will increase. I want customers to recognize it as soon as possible," he said.
``Negative certificate exemption is welcome'' movement to resume business trips
Domestic companies are also moving to resume overseas business trips that have been put off until now.
A company in Chiba City that manufactures recycling equipment for waste electric wires has postponed overseas business trips since February due to the spread of the new corona infection.
One of the major factors that hindered overseas business trips was the submission of a negative certificate that was required when returning to Japan.
Since it is necessary to take a corona test locally, it takes time to find out where to take the test in advance, costs tens of thousands of yen per person, and it takes several hours to get the test results. As a result, there were many issues such as the extension of the business trip period.
In response to the exemption of negative certificates on the condition of the third vaccination due to the relaxation of border measures, the company will travel abroad for 10 days from the 4th of this month to proceed with the contract with an Indian company. resumed.
Akira Nakane, chairman of Sanritsu Machine Industry, said, "We welcome the exemption from the negative certificate. There are many business opportunities that can be created by talking face-to-face with the other party. I have been patient for two and a half years, so it's been a long time since I've been overseas. I want to connect it to a good business on a business trip," he said.
Some say that “visa acquisition should be relaxed”
On the other hand, we heard from overseas travel agency officials that the mandatory visa acquisition for all visitors should be relaxed.
The Hokkaido Transport Bureau held a business meeting inviting overseas travel agencies to increase the number of foreign tourists visiting Hokkaido as a result of the growing popularity of golf due to the corona disaster.
A travel agency representative from Singapore who participated said, "Japan is one of the best tourist destinations for Asians, and the relaxation of border measures is good news. However, in order to attract more tourists, visa requirements will be required. We need mitigation,” he said.
Also, a South Korean travel agency representative said, "I think it will take time to make Korea a destination that Koreans can easily go to. I want them to be able to enter the country without a visa as soon as possible."
There are also voices of doubt that there is no merit in this easing
Since individual travel is still not permitted and it is mandatory to obtain a tourist visa, there are voices of doubt whether it will lead to an increase in the number of guests in the tourist city of Kyoto.
A guesthouse in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, has received more than 10 reservations, mainly from foreigners who were planning to travel individually in anticipation of the relaxation of measures at the border in the popular autumn leaves season next month and the month after next.
However, since the easing was limited this time, half of them have already been canceled, and the severe business situation will continue.
Guest house owner Yoshiyuki Nogami said, "To be honest, we can only make reservations through travel agencies, so there's no merit to this easing. It's a pity that we've reached the limit of small accommodations, and I wonder how long we'll have to wait." I was talking to
Expert “Economic effect may be limited”
Hiroaki Makino, senior researcher at JTB Research Institute, who is familiar with tourism policy, said, "It will have a large impact as exchanges and travel with overseas will return to the way they used to be.For foreign tourists entering the country, tours without a tour guide will be introduced. If it becomes possible, tourists will be able to move freely for a certain period of time.We can also expect the effect of contributing to the sales of local restaurants, which will lead to the liveliness of the area." .
On the other hand, "even if the border measures are eased, hurdles remain, such as requiring all immigrants to obtain a visa and not allowing individual travel. Especially in terms of inbound tourists, Since it is limited, I don't think we can expect a very large effect," he said, acknowledging that the economic effect may be limited.