Japan should aim to normalize its coronavirus travel controls for foreign nationals as soon as possible, some members of a government panel said Wednesday, calling for a gradual reopening of its borders for tourists to boost the economy.
The government should relax its daily limit on entries and ease additional immigration procedures needed to enter Japan once such restrictions are confirmed as less effective in curbing infection cases, private-sector members of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy said.
Amid criticism of the country's strict border controls, Japan raised the daily cap on arrivals on April 10 from 7,000 to 10,000. Visitors are limited to businesspeople, technical interns and students. The ban on tourists remains.