Japan is to remove its visa restrictions on Chinese tourists to
allow group tours from more areas from September 15, top government
spokesman Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
Japan and China agreed last month that Japan will issue 15-day
visas for the first time to tourists from Zhejiang, Fujian,
Shandong and Liaoning provinces, plus Tianjin Municipality, in
addition to those allowed already from Beijing, Shanghai and
Guangdong Province.
The measure is expected to help increase the number of foreign
tourists to Japan in line with the government's target of doubling
the number to 10 million during the decade to 2010 under its "Visit
Japan" campaign, Hosoda said.
In lifting a ban on group trips by Chinese tourists in September
2000, visas were granted only to groups from municipalities of
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province.
According to government statistics, the number of tourists to
Japan from these three areas is now more than 30,000
annually.
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(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2004)