Japan will remove the Covid ban for foreign tourists.

After a two-and-a-half-year break, Japan said on Thursday that it would ease the strict Covid requirements on international tourists.

The minister of information technology, Taro Kono, tweeted that Japan will eventually reopen the border.

No daily restrictions apply, individual visits are free, and the visa waiver is reinstated.

He did so before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who would be speaking on easing entrance standards at the New York Stock Exchange while attending the UN General Assembly, was supposed to do so.

When the bulk of the world has recovered from the epidemic, only China and Japan have continued to impose harsh restrictions on travellers.

Japan, on the other hand, didn’t impose a strict lockdown during the outbreak.

The yen is now so weak against the dollar that the finance ministry intervened in the currency market earlier on Thursday for the first time since 1998, which will help tourists visiting Japan.

A record 31.9 million international visitors entered the country in 2019 thanks to the convenience provided by the visa-waiver programme, which was suspended in March 2020.

Since June, Japan has relaxed the requirement that tourists travel in groups with guides and now welcomes self-guided package tours as well.

The cautious approach to reopening has been planned, according to James Brady, head of Japan studies at the US-based Teneo consultancy.