Japan to relax visa requirements for Chinese tourists+

NAGOYA, Oct. 18 Kyodo -
The Japanese tourism minister said Sunday the government will consider granting
tourist visas to more individual travelers from China by easing current
requirements that have been viewed as a barrier to human exchanges between the
two countries.
Land, Infrastructure Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara said during a
meeting with his Chinese counterpart Shao Qiwei that he wants to ''ease visa
requirements further,'' mirroring Japan's interest in boosting the number of
Chinese visitors from an estimated 1 million last year.
Tokyo first granted tourist visas to Chinese nationals for group trips in 2000,
expanded the measure to cover trips by wealthy Chinese families in 2008 and
then extended visas to individual Chinese travelers in July this year.
In an attempt to prevent illegal overstays, however, Japan's issuance of
tourist visas to individual Chinese travelers is currently limited to people
with an annual income at least 250,000 Chinese yuan (about 3.5 million yen).
Only travel agencies designated by the Japanese government are allowed to file
for visas for trips to Japan. The travel agencies are required to confirm that
travelers have returned to China and report it to the Japanese authorities.
Shao notified Maehara of a plan to allow Chinese nationals to make sightseeing
trips to Japan through local bureaus of Japanese travel agencies on a trial
basis.
Shao said China will soon begin selecting the Japanese companies based on their
credibility, track records and management capabilities.
''I think Japanese travel agencies can provide fine-tuned services and
hospitality and it will help to increase the number of tourists to Japan
dramatically,'' Maehara told reporters while welcoming the plan revealed by
Shao.
Maehara and Shao met ahead of a meeting in Nagoya of the tourism ministers of
Japan, China and South Korea, in which they agreed on measures such as
providing proper treatment to tourists exhibiting new-flu symptoms and stepping
up efforts for tourist protection.
==Kyodo
2009-10-18 21:15:53