Japan tourism reopening: what we know so far

Japan's 2022/23 ski season given green light as PM hints at June border reopening.

In news that will delight ski and snowboard enthusiasts around the world, Japan looks set to reopen to tourists next month, ending a hiatus on in-bound tourism that has now lasted more than two years. Prime Minster Fumio Kishida made the comments in a press conference in London on Thursday, saying that COVID-19 measures would be relaxed “in stages”, bringing Japan’s policy in line with other G7 nations. He did not comment further on the matter.

Other G7 nations, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the United States, allow international tourists, with minimal restrictions in place.

A report from television network Fuji News Network has revealed that a small group of international travellers may even be allowed to enter the country as early as this month as part of an experiment by the Japanese government – presumably ahead of a broader reopening in June. These travellers would be required to have had three vaccinations and be part of a package tour with a fixed itinerary.

UPDATE (May 20): This has now been confirmed by Japan’s national tourism agency, with 50 vaccinated and boosted travellers now set to enter the country later this month on a trial basis. They will come from “priority markets”: United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore, and will be part of tours groups capped at four people.

“This venture will allow us to verify compliance and emergency responses for infection prevention and formulate guidelines for travel agencies and accommodation operators to keep in mind,” it said.

Early last month, Kishida denied that Japan had any immediate plans to open to tourists, and there was speculation that no decision would be made until after a parliamentary election on July 25. However, pressure from a government panel in late April, as well as a recent decline in the number of COVID-19 cases – now at the lowest point since January – appear to have prompted action.

Japan’s winter tourism operators will be relieved to hear the news, after two challenging seasons with no international tourists. Many had anticipated the announcement, with tourism campaigns underway and bookings already open for next winter – including some “staggeringly good” early bird specials.

With the value of the yen plummeting in recent months, as well as pent-up demand from travellers unable to enter the country, Japan is primed for a strong resurgence in tourism, and possibly even “the mother of all tourism booms“, according to financial analyst Peter Tasker.