Japan will relax visa rules for the three-year multiple-entry tourist visas for Chinese nationals as well as eliminate visa conditions and extend visa validity to five years for high-income visitors starting January 19.
Chinese nationals are no longer required to submit a record of previous visits and a guarantee signed by a Japanese national when applying for a multiple-entry visa for business, cultural and academic purposes.
Financial requirements will be relaxed for multiple-entry visas to Okinawa and three northeastern prefectures. Applicants “with sufficient finances to support their stay and who have visited Japan in the past three years” and their relatives are eligible for multiple-entry visas.
Additionally, the ban on individual family visits will be lifted but the length of stay will be limited to 30 days. A new unrestricted multiple-entry visa for high-income individual travelers on a first visit to any part of Japan will be offered with validity increased from three to five years and a 90-day length of stay per entry.
Industry observers say that Japan has become a major tourist destination for Chinese tourists since the substantial devaluation of the yen last year, and it will continue to attract Chinese visitors with the easing of visa restrictions.(Translation by David)
