More than two years since Japan closed its borders to tourists due to the pandemic, the country is counting the cost. One Kansai University professor puts the loss stemming from the lack of foreign visitors at ¥10.96 trillion in 2020 alone, suggesting that over two years it could be at least ¥22 trillion.
With that in mind, many are asking when Japan will reopen its borders to tourists.
There is growing momentum toward taking that step, with private-sector advisers to a government council urging Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration on April 27 to gradually reopen Japan's borders to international tourists.