Japan To Ease Visa Rules For Asian Tourists

[webfact]

VISA
Japan to ease visa rules for Asian tourists

TOKYO: -- The Japanese government will relax visa rules to attract more tourists from fastgrowing Southeast Asia including waiving visa requirement for Thai and Malaysian tourists for certain lengths of stay, NHK news agency reported Tuesday.

An action plan to draw more foreign tourists was adopted at a meeting of Japanese ministers on Tuesday. The visa issuance rules could be eased as early as July, NHK said.

While waiving visa requirements for Thai and Malaysians is being considered, visitors from the Philippines and Vietnam will for the first time enjoy multipleentry visas and Indonesians will see their visa period extended from the current 15 days.

The plan also calls for governmentwide action to invite international conferences and major exhibitions to Japan.

NHK quoted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as saying the plan should be implemented quickly. He said Japan should soon meet its target of attracting 10 million foreign visitors per year, and then aim for the 20 million mark.


-- The Nation 2013-06-11

[doctorproc156]

Visa waiving for Malaysians are well over due, but Japan should be wary of the other countries as the potential for trafficking is still quite high. But none the less it's still good news for holiday goers and law abiding citizens.

Edited June 11, 2013 by anantha92

[Zolt]

Japan already sees a bit of human trafficking from SE Asia but I'd say it's still marginal - all of it is run by the Yakuza anyway, and they have enough contacts within the establishment that it makes little to no difference.

Japanese businesses have made few attempts at importing foreign labor, and they didn't work too well either.

[davejones]

About time to. Now I can go to Japan. I've been putting it off for years because of visa requirements.

[webfact]

Thais may not need visa for Japan
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thai nationals will most likely not need a tourist visa for Japan from as early as next month as part of Tokyo's move to attract more travellers from Southeast Asia, an NHK news report said yesterday.

Malaysian citizens will possibly also benefit from this visa-free policy, while Filipinos and people from Vietnam will be able to obtain multiple-entry visas for the first time. Indonesians will also see their visa period extended from the current 15 days, the report said. Reports have also been circulating on social media about these visa changes.

An official from the Japanese embassy in Bangkok told The Nation that the process was underway and that this policy should be in effect by July or August.

Meanwhile, NHK quoted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as saying that his government was aiming to double its target of attracting 10 million visitors per year.

According to online statistics, a total of 8.37 million foreigners visited Japan last year, with Thailand and Malaysia accounting for 390,000 of them.


-- The Nation 2013-06-12

[Payboy]

Looking forward to meeting more Thai ladies in Ginza.

[sandrabbit]

good news, will be able to take my Thai partner on holiday there this year. Osaka then Kobe, nice.

[HerbalEd]

Visa waiving for Malaysians are well over due, but Japan should be wary of the other countries as the potential for trafficking is still quite high. But none the less it's still good news for holiday goers and law abiding citizens.

I suggest you educate yourself by googling "human trafficking in Malaysia."

[bangon04]

Japan already sees a bit of human trafficking from SE Asia but I'd say it's still marginal - all of it is run by the Yakuza anyway, and they have enough contacts within the establishment that it makes little to no difference.

Japanese businesses have made few attempts at importing foreign labor, and they didn't work too well either.

My clients in Tokyo who have in the past tried to employ Thais or Philipinos simply cannot understand why they live/work/do everything at half speed. Come to think of it, they say more or less the same thing in Hong Kong.....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So what will this mean for Thais?

15 days visa free entry? 30 days visa free entry? More???

They're saying perhaps no visa required. But they're not saying what the new alternative will be.

[theoldgit]

John

I thought the story was pretty clear, the Japanese authorities have announced that the visa regulations are going to be relaxed, but the full details are not known yet, they are are expected to be announced and implemented before the Japanese summer holiday season.

The Japanese Embassy website carries a similar message but, likewise, carries no definitive answer. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

http://www.th.emb-japan.go.jp/en/consular/visaindex.htm

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Pretty clear in not being at all clear... Git...

Given that the news was coming via The Nation, I was hoping there might be a bit more known than what their "professional" journalists manage to report...

Edited June 12, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Morakot]

Looking forward to meeting more Thai ladies in Ginza.

Now that's an idea! Evening programme sorted for the next Tokyo conference.

[theoldgit]

Pretty clear in not being at all clear... Git...

Given that the news was coming via The Nation, I was hoping there might be a bit more known than what their "professional" journalists manage to report...

I'm sorry I'm not a journalist, but, as I say The Nation seems to have reported the facts, the facts seem to be that the Japanese Authorities have announced that they are going to ease visa restrictions for Thais.

The Nation informed its readers that the Japanese Authorities have said that they will officially announce the new rules shortly, by doing so they negate the need for its readers to ask what will this mean for Thais? 15 days visa free entry? 30 days visa free entry? More??? though I'm sure some people will ask before the facts are known.

I for one am grateful that they have given me a heads up that the visa regulations are about to change, and avoided speculating what the changes will be.

[doctorproc156]

Visa waiving for Malaysians are well over due, but Japan should be wary of the other countries as the potential for trafficking is still quite high. But none the less it's still good news for holiday goers and law abiding citizens.

I suggest you educate yourself by googling "human trafficking in Malaysia."

Malaysia is mainly used as a transit country for trafficking but not many Malaysians themselves are being sent overseas. But US and Europe citizens don't need a visa to go to Japan, so are you honestly suggesting that there is absolutely no trafficking going on in those countries? Like people from eastern Europe being trafficked through the EU to other parts of the world. There is no country with 100% no trafficking but there are degrees of severity of it happening, and judging by the current state of the Japanese economy and their prolonged recession, the problems of trafficking would be very minuscule compared to the amount of inflows they will have from tourists and investors. It is a well known fact that Thai women work all around the world in "massage parlors" and all I'm saying is that the Japanese government should be wary of any negative consequences. If they have done the research and risk assessment and they have approved it then good for them, I say waive visas for Thai people. I know a lot of Thais who would definitely consider Japan as a holiday destination now and I'm quite sure a very large majority of them are law abiding citizens.

[Jasun]

The missus is already shopping for snow boots.