FILE PHOTO: A notice about COVID-19 safety measures is pictured next to closed doors at a departure hall of Narita international airport on the first day of closed borders to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus Omicron variant in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan, November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
TOKYO — Japan will waive pre-departure COVID-19 tests for vaccinated travelers to the country, but daily caps on entrants will remain in place, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday.
The requirement for tests will be lifted from Sept. 7, Kishida said. No decision has been made yet on a reported plan to raise a daily cap on inbound travellers from 20,000 to 50,000, he added.
“We will continue relaxing these measures gradually,” said Kishida, who addressed reporters online as he is recuperating from COVID at his official residence.
Japan has maintained some of the strictest pandemic border measures among major economies, requiring travelers to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure.
Kishida said in May that he wanted to bring Japan’s border measures more in line with those of other Group of Seven nations.
Japan in June opened up to tourists for the first time in two years, but requirements that they apply for visas and stick to guided, package tours have kept actual numbers of inbound visitors small.