Buzz
Citizens of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia will have visa regulations relaxed, equivalent to visa exemption to Japan from 2015 onwards.
During the meeting on June 17th, Japan announced it will ease regulations for issuing tourist visas once at a level “equivalent to visa exemption” for Vietnamese tourists, according to Nekkei Asian Review (Japan).
As a result, citizens of the three aforementioned countries are allowed to stay in Japan for 3 months. However, specific details including the implementation date are still being considered, according to the statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesian citizens with e-passports will be exempt from visas if they register in advance with the Embassy or Consulate-General of Japan in Indonesia.
For citizens of Vietnam and the Philippines, regulations for multiple-entry tourist visas will be relaxed, and regulations for single-entry tourist visas will be relaxed to a level “equivalent to visa exemption” if applied through designated travel companies appointed by Japan.
This provision also applies to Indonesian citizens, according to a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This is part of the plan to increase the number of foreign tourists to Japan to reach 20 million visitors per year by 2020, which is also the year this country hosts the Olympic Games.
Earlier, on April 14th, Kyodo News reported that the Japanese Government was reviewing its tourism action plan, which includes visa exemptions for Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
The initiative is supported by the government and the ruling party LDP to attract more tourists from the Southeast Asian region. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government also sees tourism as a pillar for the strategy to promote economic growth.
In 2013, the number of tourists from Thailand and Malaysia to Japan increased by 61% compared to the previous year, reaching 630,000 visitors, after Tokyo exempted visas for tourists from both countries starting from July 2013.
This contributed to Japan reaching 10 million foreign visitors per year for the first time.
Summary
---
Source: Mytour Travel Guide
MytourNovember 25, 2015
