Japan to further ease visa requirements for PHL

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MANILA — The government of Japan said it will further relax visa requirements for the Philippines and two other Southeast Asian nations in a bid to attract more tourists.

In its June 17 statement, the Japanese embassy in Manila said multiple-entry visa requirements for the Philippines “will be substantially relaxed, and requirements for single-entry tourism visas will be relaxed to a quasi-exemption-equivalent level when applied via specified travel agencies.”

“Following today’s meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to endeavor to realize the exemption of visa requirements as promptly as possible and to implement, as an initial step, the following substantial relaxations of visa requirements for nationals of Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in cooperation with these partner countries,” the embassy statement said.

The objectives of these measures, it added, are to promote Japan as a tourism-oriented country with the goal of attracting 20 million foreign visitors.

An influx of tourists to Japan, it said, aims “to contribute to growth strategies as well as the promotion of people-to-people exchanges.”

Meanwhile, the details of the new visa measures, including the date of application are currently under consideration, the embassy added.