Finally, after more than two years of border restrictions and other travel-hindering policies in response to COVID, Japan has fully opened its doors to travelers and won't even require most visitors to be quarantined or even get vaccinated anymore.
According to the Associated Press, Japan will only require travelers to present proof that they are fully vaccinated, or at least have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. Travelers from the United States, Asia, Europe and South American nations who meet these requirements won't have to be quarantined upon entry anymore.
Aside from these, Japan has also removed the daily 50,000 limit for arrivals, and is now allowing tourists and business people from 60 countries to enter visa-free for short-term visits.
Like most nations around the world, Japan needs throngs of tourists to come and spend money, effectively helping to revitalize the economy after the worldwide pandemic. And by lifting the travel restrictions that made it hard for people to come, the land of the rising sun is seeing just that.
Japan saw 32 million tourists in 2019 just before the pandemic hit. The COVID restrictions significantly slashed that number down, but now that the nation's borders have reopened people are coming to once again enjoy what the Asian country has to offer.
Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways Co., or ANA, reported seeing a five-fold increase in the number of bookings for inbound travel as compared to just last week. Canadian carrier Air Canada, on the other hand, reported a 51% increase in bookings this month as compared to last month's bookings.
Tourists, such as German national Nadine Lackmann, told the AP that they were very happy to know that Japan is now opened for tourism.
"We got the news that we can finally come. We are really, really happy," Lackmann said.
Foreigners who have visited Japan several times, such as Los Angeles-based photographer David Beall, are also happy to come back.
"As cliched as it sounds, just being back in Japan after all this time is what I am most looking forward to," Beall told the AP.
Japan, however, is not completely dropping all COVID policies. Travelers will still be required to wear masks and sanitize their hands in certain establishments.
No More Travel Restrictions
Other nations are also dropping travel restrictions in a bid to revive economies after a two-year slump. Canada, for example, has dropped travel restrictions and will no longer require travelers to get vaccinated or even wear masks inside airplanes.
Hong Kong, in a serious bid to entice people to come over, is also giving away 500,000 tickets for travelers around the world. The China-ruled city's policies, however, are still stricter compared to Japan, Canada, and other nations.
