Japan Eases Visa Rules For SE Asia

Japan said Tuesday it has significantly relaxed its visa requirements for visitors from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. 

The measure is part of the government’s drive to increase the number of foreign tourists to 20 million a year by 2020 after hitting the 10 million mark in 2013.

Japan exempts applicants from the three countries from submitting documents showing their savings on condition that they have visited Japan in the past and also that they have made several trips to any of the Group of Seven industrialized nations other than Japan, according to a Foreign Ministry official.

The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

The validity of multiple-entry visas for nationals of the three Southeast Asian countries has been extended to up to five years from three years, the official said.

Japan will also waive visas for tourists from Indonesia from Dec. 1 if they register in advance with their IC passports at Japanese diplomatic establishments abroad.

Originally published on www.bangkokpost.com