Japanese passport holders may soon be able to travel to China without a visa, for the first time in more than four years, as the two countries work toward mending fences after a period of tension and in the face of rising protectionist threats.

According to two Japanese press reports, travel agencies in China have been informed that policy might be adjusted to once again allow for 15-day visa-free visits by Japanese nationals as early as the end of this month.

The privilege has been suspended since March 2020.

China and Japan have been working toward a thaw in relations and signaling the possibility of a resumption of the visa waiver program.

Former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Toshihiro Nikai pressed Beijing on this issue when he visited China in August. Keizai Doyukai Chairman Takeshi Niinami, who is also the CEO of Suntory, urged Chinese Vice President Han Zheng to reinstate the policy during a meeting between the two earlier this month in Beijing.

During the first meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping, held on Friday, Xi told Ishiba that the two countries should “deepen and expand people-to-people exchange” — a statement that was missing from his meeting last year with Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry readouts.

“We have repeatedly urged the Chinese side at various levels to promptly resume the visa exemption measures and will continue to call for their early resumption moving forward,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday, although he declined to confirm whether Ishiba had pressed Xi on this issue during their meeting.

In a white paper issued this year, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China called the current visa requirement “an obstacle to the smooth traffic and business promotion” between the two countries. It strongly supported the reinstatement of the visa-waiver program as soon as possible.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said that it will “intensively look into” requests for visa-free travel to be resumed, and that it hopes Japan can work “in the same direction” to make travel between the two countries easier.

The Chinese Embassy in Japan did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by email on Tuesday.

China had granted citizens of Singapore, Japan and Brunei visa-free privileges for short-term visits of up to 15 days but suspended the exemption programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. While China reinstated the measure for Singapore and Brunei in July 2023, it did not resume visa-free visits for Japanese nationals.

Since late 2023, Beijing has been gradually granting visa-free travel to a number of European and South East Asian countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Earlier this month, Beijing waived visa requirements for citizens of nine countries, including South Korea, Norway and Slovakia, until the end of 2025.

Passport holders from 54 countries who transit via any of the 41 designated entry points in China can stay in the country for short periods of time, the longest being 144 hours. This privilege also extends to Japanese passport holders.

The possible resumption of 15-day visa-free entry to China for Japanese nationals comes after a period of heightened tensions between the two countries.

Beijing’s anti-espionage crackdown has resulted in the jailing of a Japanese executive, while Japanese residents have been targeted in a wave of deadly crime in China.

It also comes ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States and possible moves by him to raise tariffs on Chinese goods and take other measures that might isolate the Chinese economy.

He has nominated prominent China hawks to fill key roles in his cabinet since his election victory on Nov. 5.

China’s economy has faced significant challenges since the pandemic, and the country is struggling to maintain its 5% GDP growth in the face of shifting trade patterns and geopolitical tensions. The government has implemented a number of stimulus measures to boost the economy and has been seeking to attract more foreign investment.

Staff writer Gabriele Ninivaggi contributed to this report.