Individual Chinese tourists specifically planning to visit the three northeastern prefectures hit hardest by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami can now get three-year multiple-entry visas, government sources said. The aim is to attract Chinese with high purchasing power to help fund reconstruction efforts, they added.
Chinese travel agencies are required to certify that a tourist will stay at least one night in one of the three prefectures. Only individual tourists are eligible for the visas, which allow them to stay for 90 days on their first visit. The tourists will be free to stay anywhere in Japan from their second visit onward.
In a similar bid to boost tourism, multiple-entry visas were made available from last July to Chinese nationals that require them to travel to Okinawa on their first trip.
The number of tourists visiting the southernmost prefecture surged after the visas were introduced, a success the government hopes to repeat elsewhere.
Currently, Chinese group travelers can stay in Japan for up to 15 days with a tour guide while individuals can stay for up to 30 days if they have a certain level of income, both on single-entry visas.
According to Japanese government data, China accounted for the second-highest number of foreign travelers to Japan in 2011 and they had the highest level of spending during their stays.
The number of Chinese travelers to Japan has been picking up this year following a plunge in the aftermath of the March 2011 disaster.
During their meeting in April, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba told his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, about the plan to issue multiple-entry visas in July.