Japan to Restore Visa-Free Travel as Pandemic Recedes

Pedestrians in front of a branch of Mizuho Securities Co., a unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc., in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, April 25, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Japan will abolish a slew of Covid border controls from Oct. 11, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in New York, in a move that looks set to revive the tourism industry.

Individual visitors will be allowed to enter, and Japan will reinstate visa waivers, Kishida said at a news conference Thursday morning in New York. The cap on daily arrivals in Japan will also be ended, he said. Later in the day, at the New York Stock Exchange, Kishida said Japan “will relax border control measures to be on par with the U.S.,” spurring applause from the audience.