Japan PM to double border entries to 20,000/day from June as COVID curbs ease

Japan will double the maximum number of people allowed every day to enter at border crossings to 20,000 from June 1 as part of a phased easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday. Japan has maintained some of the strictest border controls in the world over the past two years in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, hammering inbound tourism which had been a major driver of economic growth. “We will raise daily entries to 20,000 and allow travellers from countries with low positive testing rates (for COVID) to enter Japan without testing upon arrival,” Kishida told a symposium. The daily limit will include returning citizens and residents as well as visa holders and visitors on package tours. Travellers from lower-risk countries who are fully vaccinated and boosted will be exempt from quarantine and COVID-19 testing. Travellers on escorted package tours will be admitted from June 10, Kishida added. The resumption of inbound tourism will provide welcome relief for Japan’s battered hospitality sector, though some remain concerned about a possible resurgence of the pandemic as COVID-19 curbs are eased. Japan will prepare for the resumption of international flights to New Chitose airport in the northern tourism-reliant prefecture of Hokkaido and to Naha airport in the southernmost island of Okinawa by the end of June. <br/>