Japan looks like it may finally open its borders and end its splendid isolation. The key question is: Can it learn to love foreign tourists again?
After a series of head fake border re-openings this year that promised more than they delivered, a report recently that Japan would scrap most restrictions on tourists was the big one. If realized, the plans — which include restoring the visa waiver for those with three shots, dumping a daily cap on arrival numbers and allowing tourists to book without going through a travel agent — would make ease of entry into Japan look more like it did in 2019.
It’s a pragmatic, if long overdue, decision from the often cautious Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan has a window of opportunity that won’t come again soon to normalize its border controls. The current wave of COVID-19 cases and the punishing summer heat are both subsiding, paving the way for an autumn where both natural and vaccine immunity should mean a respite from the disease.