Japan opens door wider to Chinese tourists

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-02 07:38

TOKYO: Japan hopes the opening of its borders to individual tourists from China will boost its economy, said Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) commissioner Yoshiaki Hompo.

The nation began issuing tourist visas to Chinese individuals yesterday, allowing them to visit Japan for the first time without tour guides.

"Japan and China are the world's second and third largest economies. The meaning of issuing tourist visas to Chinese is far more profound than any other similar issuance," Hompo said.

The move follows a bilateral agreement reached during Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's visit to China in April.

Hompo said preparations began last September.

"Grassroots communications between people in the two countries is very important to bilateral ties. This move signals a friendly attitude toward Chinese from Japan's government, tourism industry and common people," Hompo said.

The visas will be issued when individuals and family members "meet certain requirements" in terms of income, occupation and other factors.

However, there is no stipulation that applicants must have an annual income of 250,000 yuan ($32,460) as some media in Japan and China reported, Hompo said.

"Financial status is merely for reference In fact, Japan welcomes any Chinese individual that is trust-worthy," he said.

People who have worked in Japan for an extended period and those who have visited the country for research and studies would be considered "trust-worthy" and not be bound by any income criteria, he added.

Applications for the visa will be accepted at the Japanese embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Hompo said Japan has little room for short-term economic growth during the recession, which is the worst in the post-war period, other than by exploiting new markets, such as untapped tourism potential.

According to the Japanese government's plan, the country will accept 10 million overseas tourists by 2010. It hopes to double that figure by 2020.

Since 2000, Japan has admitted Chinese tourists in groups escorted by both Chinese and Japanese tour guides.

Hompo said the purchasing power of Chinese tourists is "amazing" - they each spend about 200,000 yen ($2,083) during a visit to Japan.

The country hopes the total number of Chinese visitors will increase by 250,000 in 2010 to 1.25 million, generating an estimated 40 billion yen, the official said.

"The Japanese tourism industry has made a lot of preparations to satisfy the expected growing number of Chinese tourists," Hompo said, pointing out that Japan is increasingly accepting the Chinese banks' Unionpay system. The country is also striving to remove language barriers.

"We hope to continue loosening the criteria for tourist visas to Chinese, based on mutual trust and make it a win-win situation," he added.

Xinhua