The Japanese government will start a pilot project to welcome fully vaccinated tourists during May. This is reported by the Japan Tourism Agency. The project is set to be launched ahead of a wider relaxation of border controls in June, Dip.org.ua reports citing Nikkei Asia.
It is clarified that at first they plan to receive small groups of tourists from four countries – the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore to test the effectiveness of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The pilot project will focus on package tours through Japanese travel agencies. Travelers must comply with health requirements such as triple vaccination (a full two-dose vaccination cycle and a booster) and travel agents must accompany them on predetermined routes.
Based on the results of the project, the government will develop a manual for businesses on how to interact with foreigners coming to Japan. In June, along with the easing of measures, it is planned to double the daily arrival limit to 20,000 people. Also, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that from now on, procedures for tourists will also be simplified so that they are similar to those in other G7 countries.