Reopening in the Land of the Rising Sun

June 21, 2022 Japan iGaming & Gambling

It’s a great time to visit Japan — if you can get in
Japan is one of the best places in the world for foreign visitors. It has bustling cities, beautiful beaches, snow-capped mountains and favorable exchange rates that have put the entire country on sale.

The problem? Getting in.

Japan began allowing foreign tourists in on June 10 for the first time in more than two years. With the yen reaching the lowest level against the dollar in more than two decades, it’s a great time to visit the country, which topped the World Economic Forum’s latest ranking of the Travel & Tourism Development Index last month.

But officials in the island nation are making it difficult for tourists. While it has the lowest Covid-19 death rate among the world’s wealthiest countries and about 15,000 daily cases, the reopening has been a cautious affair. Only about half the population is in favor of easing border restrictions, according to a poll by the Yomiuri newspaper.

In reality, perhaps only China is slower in reopening to the world than Japan, which is seriously lagging Western nations. The caution has helped it avoid many Covid consequences, including deaths, but it’s also extracting an economic cost.

The country’s biggest business groups and major foreign chambers of commerce are pushing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to further open Japan’s borders. A recent easing appeared to fall short of the pledge he made in London last month. They want visa waivers for business travelers to be restored, individual tourist travel resumed and the cap on daily international arrivals eliminated.

While Kishida’s administration seems keen to keep the current stance ahead of upper house elections in July, there has been compromise.