Apr 18 (Al Jazeera) - Tokyo’s initial ban on tourists came in response to the first wave of COVID-19 infections in early 2020 and at a time when the Japanese travel industry was booming.
Following the loosening of visa rules under then prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japan witnessed inbound tourism growth for eight consecutive years, with overseas visitors peaking at 32 million arrivals in 2019.
Some 40 million visitors were predicted for 2020, the year the Tokyo Olympics were initially scheduled to take place, while the government set a target of 60 million visitors by 2030. International visitors’ economic contribution increased year on year over the period, with 4.81 trillion yen ($3.8bn) spent in 2019 alone.
There was hope in travel circles that borders might reopen after most of the population was vaccinated – 80 percent have received at least two shots – a surge of the Omicron variant subsided, and border controls came down in neighbours such as South Korea and Malaysia.
A post on the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website earlier this month appeared to herald an end to the protocols, stating: “The following 106 countries will not be subject to denial of permission to enter Japan from 0:00 am (JST) on April 8, 2022.”
But those hopes were soon dashed when the government confirmed the changes only applied to returning residents and family members with extenuating circumstances, students enrolled in Japan-based study programs, and work permit holders, all of whom will be subject to reduced self-isolation periods if they fulfil the necessary criteria.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has confirmed “no schedule has been decided” for fully reopening the borders, though members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party have discussed a potential “relaxation of border measures”.
Further complicating Japan’s reopening prospects is a steadily rising number of COVID-19 cases, as well as the recent discovery of the Omicron XE hybrid variant in a traveller who arrived at Narita Airport from the United States.
Tokyo has responded to rising infection rates and new variants with more stringent restrictions in the past, raising fears that tourist-friendly border policies could still be some way off. In a December poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest daily newspaper, almost 90 percent of respondents said they were in favour of tough border controls.
Some pundits have drawn parallels between the pandemic years and the Sakoku era, a period of more than 200 years during which Japan cut itself off from the outside world.
