Japan To Drop All Restrictions, Reopen To Mass Tourism In October

It has been a long time coming, but finally, Japan is ready to reopen to mass tourism in October 2022.  While it was one of the world’s last holdouts in the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is dropping all its COVID-19 restrictions and fully opening its borders to international travelers.

Japan reopens to mass tourism

Japan is a magical destination, with its natural beauty and its unique and vibrant urban culture. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the country tightly shut its borders in an effort to fight the virus.

Until now, the Japanese government cautiously reopened to travelers, as long as they were part of an official tour group. Numbers were limited and it wasn’t quite the same experience for travelers, wanting to fully enjoy the Japan experience. Therefore, it is great news to hear that the tight regulations on international tourists are to be lifted.

Taro Kono, the Japanese Minister of Digital Affairs made the announcement on Twitter on Thursday. He wrote, “Finally, Japan will reopen the border,” adding, “Visa waiver is back, no daily limit and free individual visits.”

Finally, Japan will reopen the border. Visa waiver is back, no daily limit and free individual visits.

— KONO Taro (@konotaromp) September 22, 2022

While the message was simple, Twitter users were quick to react to the good news, with thousands of likes and plenty of retweets. Many potential travelers responded, writing, “Finally!” while others were clearly excited, particularly over the words, “free individual visits.”

When do the new policies come into effect?

Meanwhile, the new policies are set to start on October 11, 2022. At a news conference on Thursday in New York City, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said:

We will lift the ceiling of the number of entrants into Japan, lift the ban on individual travel and lift the ban over visa-less travel.

As noted by Nikkei Asia, Prime Minister Kishida was in New York City to attend the UN General Assembly meeting. He elaborated on his announcement, saying that on the same day, Japan plans to launch a campaign to offer domestic travel discounts and event discounts to residents of Japan.

Kishida hopes that many citizens will take advantage of the offer to support the hotel, travel and entertainment sectors in Japan. Moreover, he stressed that those sectors have suffered enormous blows during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major policy shift regarding tourists

The latest move marks a major policy shift following almost two-and-a-half years of strict COVID-19 restrictions on who could enter Japan and under what circumstances.

Along the way, restrictions have included caps on the daily number of arrivals, along with strict testing rules for COVID-19. Moreover, Japan at first insisted that international travelers could only visit as part of a tour group, and were accompanied wherever they went.

Finally, from October 11, 2022, mass tourism will return to normal with travelers welcomed from all over the world. The exciting, neon-lit city of Tokyo will be ready for visitors once again, as well as the marvelous Kyoto and all other cities of the island nation.

Readers, are you planning a trip to Japan in 2022? Let us know your thoughts on the country finally fully reopening to tourism.