Japan prepares to waive visa for Vietnamese tourists

According to a VNA reporter in Tokyo, the Japanese government and ruling coalition are carrying out procedures towards completely exempting entry visas for tourists from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Illustration photo. (Source: kcpstudentlife.com)

The initiative, aimed at attracting more tourists from Southeast Asia including the region's Muslim community, is being developed as Japan aims to increase the number of foreign visitors to 20 million in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is also currently advocating tourism as a spearhead in Japan's economic growth recovery strategy.

In 2013, Vietnam had 80,000 tourists visiting Japan, while Indonesia had 140,000 and the Philippines had 110,000. Among the countries requiring a visa to enter Japan, Vietnam and the above two countries ranked high in the number of tourists to Japan, just behind China.

In 2013, visitors from Thailand and Malaysia increased by 61% compared to the previous year to about 630,000 people after these countries were granted visa exemptions in July 2013. This helped the number of tourists to Japan reach a record 10 million people/year for the first time.

With the visa exemption, the number of tourists to Japan is likely to increase compared to the three Southeast Asian countries as demand for overseas tourism in these countries increases thanks to positive economic growth. The overstay rate, which is common for short-term visitors from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, was quite low in January and November 2013 at around 0.09 to 0.34 percent.

In terms of countries and territories, China, South Korea and Taiwan have the largest number of tourists to Japan.

To achieve its goal of increasing the number of annual tourists to 20 million, Japan needs to step up efforts to attract more visitors from Southeast Asian countries, according to the Japan Tourism Agency (JATA).

Japan has exempted visas for short-term visitors from South Korea, Taiwan and 64 other countries and territories if their purpose of visit is sightseeing or visiting relatives. South Korea – which is currently one of Japan’s competing destinations in Northeast Asia – has also relaxed its visa policy to attract more tourists to the country.

According to Vietnam+