According to a report on The Japan Times, not only will travel agencies help their customers apply for visas via the new system, it will also dramatically reduce the workload at diplomatic departments and immigration control ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Channel NewsAsia added that tourists from Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and the United States will be granted visas upon arrival in an effort to further boost tourism numbers as well.
Japan has a lofty goal of hitting 60 million visitors per year by 2030. In order to facilitate that, the Japanese government recently announced that it will be introducing electronic visa for tourists starting April 2020. This is also part of the authority’s efforts to attract even more Chinese tourists, considering how 60% of all visas issued in 2017 were for Chinese visitors, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
According to a report on The Japan Times, not only will travel agencies help their customers apply for visas via the new system, it will also dramatically reduce the workload at diplomatic departments and immigration control ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Channel NewsAsia added that tourists from Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and the United States will be granted visas upon arrival in an effort to further boost tourism numbers as well.
The number of visitors to Japan this year is expected to top 30 million for the first time, despite the country’s recent misfortune with multiple natural disasters.