Japan to ease visa rules for Asian tourists
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The Japanese government will relax visa rules to attract more tourists from fastgrowing Southeast Asia including waiving visa requirement for Thai and Malaysian tourists for certain lengths of stay, NHK news agency reported Tuesday.
An action plan to draw more foreign tourists was adopted at a meeting of Japanese ministers on Tuesday. The visa issuance rules could be eased as early as July, NHK said.
While waiving visa requirements for Thai and Malaysians is being considered, visitors from the Philippines and Vietnam will for the first time enjoy multipleentry visas and Indonesians will see their visa period extended from the current 15 days.
The plan also calls for governmentwide action to invite international conferences and major exhibitions to Japan.
NHK quoted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as saying the plan should be implemented quickly. He said Japan should soon meet its target of attracting 10 million foreign visitors per year, and then aim for the 20 million mark.
