Japan Is Preparing to Reopen Border for Tourists Following COVID Closure
Japan, like the rest of the world, is figuring out how best to navigate travel in the time of COVID. The pandemic is still carrying on though vaccination plans and treatment breakthroughs have helped mitigate its spread. For Japan, that means discussion of tourism has been brought to the forefront as the nation has kept its borders closed to outsiders. But now, it seems tourists will be able to visit Japan under strict conditions soon.
The news comes straight from Japan as officials announced today it will begin allowing tourists into its country from four nations. Visitors from Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and the United States will be eligible to visit Japan beginning later this month. However, all tourists must be vaccinated against COVID-19 with a three-shot series and be part of a fixed travel group to help limit potential COVID exposure.
This announcement comes as Japan continues to field requests from locals to allow tourism ahead of the summer months. As you can imagine, the tourism industry in Japan has been null since the COVID pandemic got underway in 2020. With this new allowance set, the tourism industry can start its recovery, and the government says this step is just the first part of a multi-step plan. If this limited allowance works out, officials state Japan could fully open its borders to tourists as early as June.
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As you can imagine, this news is welcome to those who are vaccinated and have been eager to visit Japan since the nation's borders closed in early 2020. The country has experienced numerous COVID waves since the pandemic began, but it has faired well in terms of overall cases and deaths. To date, Japan has recoded 8.39 million cases of COVID-19 with 30,087 deaths. This is in light of the pandemic's global impact of 522 million confirmed cases and 6.27 million deaths.
Do you have any plans to visit Japan soon? Did your travel plans for Tokyo get delayed amid the pandemic? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.