Asia Minute: Japan eases some travel restrictions — but others remain

Japan will soon start to ease some of its restrictions on visitors. But there will still be a number of rules to follow.

Starting Wednesday, the daily limit on people arriving in Japan will be raised to 50,000 — up from 20,000. That includes Japanese travelers returning from overseas destinations such as Hawaiʻi.

But that won’t immediately ramp up the number of Japanese arrivals to Hawaiʻi — the focus is on visitors from overseas coming to Japan.

Starting in June, Japan allowed casual travelers to come in tour groups — not a popular option.

The country’s Immigration Services Agency says June and July saw a total of about 8,000 visitors — far from the monthly average of 265,000 in 2019.

All visitors still need to get a visa — usually through a travel agency — in case a visitor comes down with COVID-19 while in Japan.

And if you have not had two vaccine shots plus at least one booster, you will need to take a PCR test within 72 hours of your flight.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, travel rules have been eased in locations from Australia to Vietnam.

On Wednesday, South Korea announced visitors will no longer need a negative COVID test before boarding a flight — although a test on arrival is still required.

In Japan, government officials say more details about the country’s travel rules will be coming soon.