Japan allows entry of non-guided visitors on package tours

Tokyo : Japan allowed the entry of non-escorted visitors on package tours and raise the daily arrival cap to 50,000 from September 7 marking a significant step towards the full resumption of tourism.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, "In countries worldwide, international exchange is growing. To participate in these exchanges and to benefit from the weaker yen, we have raised the daily arrival cap to 50,000, as well as allowed (tourists on) non-guided tours from all countries to enter the country."
The Prime Minister also said he would consider easing restrictions further based on various conditions at home and abroad, aiming to put border measures on par with fellow members of the Group of Seven major countries.
Japan has been allowing foreign tourists into the country since June, but only on guided tours.
Reports said, tourists still need to have "sponsors," or travel agencies in Japan that they can contact if they get infected with the coronavirus, meaning individual tourists, such as backpackers travelling without a sponsor, are not allowed in.
In the two months through the end of July, only 8,155 foreign tourists visited Japan, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
Japan has also dropped pre-arrival PCR tests from September 7 if passengers have received three shots of an approved vaccine.
The daily arrival cap - the number of people able to enter Japan each day, including Japanese nationals and foreign residents - has been raised to 50,000, or 2.5 times the earlier figure of 20,000.
The number has been raised in stages over the past six months or so. In February, the figure was 3,500, but it was raised to 10,000 in April and then to 20,000 in June.