The government of Japan had earlier plans to relax visa requirements in order to encourage increased number of tourists from the emerging nations in Southeast Asia to visit the country. Sources from the Abe administration said that the government will examine relaxing of these requirements.
The move will be made as the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has determined that it will attract more travelers from the fast-growing economies in order to attain the country’s goal of increasing the annual number of foreign visitors to at least 25 million by 2020. The Japanese government will consider waiving visas for tourists from Thailand and Malaysia, along with offering multiple entry-visas to tourists from Vietnam and the Philippines.
In 2012, Japan welcomed 260,000 visitors from Thailand and 130,000 visitors from Malaysia, 90,000 from the Philippines and 60,000 from Vietnam. On the other hand, there are also concerns present that relaxing visa requirements might increase the number of foreign nationals working illegally in the country.
The matter will be discussed further among government services including the Japan Tourism Agency, the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry. The government will also be examining the issuance of multiple-entry visas for the Chinese nationals.
