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 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.
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 which promised more than they delivered, a report Monday 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.
