Japan's relaxed visa rules lead to a surge in tourists from China - South Korea reports

The Japanese government has relaxed visa requirements for visitors from China, and the demand for travel to Japan from China has been increasing rapidly.
The demand for travel to China from Japan has been increasing rapidly due to the approval of the new rules. On the 25th of last month, the top diplomats of Japan and China met in Beijing and discussed cooperation in the fields of diplomacy and security, as well as private exchanges.
It is analyzed that the demand for travel between the two countries is increasing due to the decision to expand the scope of entry for Japanese and Chinese travelers.
The Global Times, a Chinese official English newspaper, recently reported that an online travel platform has been used to search and book major tourist destinations in Japan.
According to the Global Times, online travel platform Qunar reported that the number of flights from China to Tokyo and Osaka has increased by up to three times since the 25th of last month.
The number of searches for hotels and other accommodation facilities in Sapporo, Hakodate, and Otaru, famous hot spring travel destinations in winter, and in the Izu region of Shizuoka, also doubled compared to the previous week.
The online travel agency Tongchon Travel also saw a three-fold increase in searches for flights between China and Japan during the Chinese New Year holiday around the 25th of last month, and a rise in Japan package deals.
Inquiries about travel products have also nearly doubled. A travel agency source told the Global Times, "We are seeing a surge in demand across China, from Shanghai in Guangdong Province in the south, to Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, as well as Tianjin in the north.
"The number of searches for Tokyo, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Fukuoka, and Osaka is showing a sharp increase," he explained. In China, the government has been working on the policy on travelers from China proposed by the Japanese government at the recent meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
The government believes that the relaxation of visa requirements for foreign visitors to Japan has boosted demand for travel to Japan. On the 25th of last month, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwasaki and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a foreign ministers' meeting at the State Guesthouse in Beijing.
This is the first time in 1 year and 8 months since April 2023 that Japan has offered China a visa relaxation card during the talks. The validity period of tourist visas, which had been allowed for 5 years up until now, will be extended to 10 years.
The government extended the stay period for group tourist visas from 15 to 30 days. In order to increase demand for visits to Japan from wealthy middle-aged people, it was decided to exempt Chinese entrants aged 65 or older from submitting employment certificates.
The two countries agreed that the new law will come into effect by the end of the year, once all necessary preparations have been completed. In addition, Japan and China will cooperate in tourism through visa-free entry, encourage school trips, and expand mutual exchange of student exchanges.
The two sides have decided to expand sister city ties, expand sports exchanges, support cooperation in the cultural industry, invite Japan to participate in the 30th anniversary event of this year's Beijing World Women's Convention, and support the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to visit Japan and hold a "Japan-China High-Level Economic Dialogue." The director of the Northeast Asia Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Heilongjiang Province said, "The main focus of this Japan-China diplomatic summit is to deepen the perspectives of the two countries.
"This is an expansion of optical exchange," he said, predicting that "if no negative factors reoccur between the two countries in the future, the number of Chinese visiting Japan this year is likely to exceed the number of Koreans."
The Chinese government, which had permitted visa-free entry for Japanese nationals until the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed visa-free entry at the end of November last year for the first time in about five years.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of Chinese tourists who visited Japan from January to November last year was 6.38 million, only 70% of the level before the COVID-19 virus pandemic.
As of November last year, the number of tourists visiting Japan was 33.38 million, exceeding the 2023 target of 31.88 million visitors.