Japan has relaxed visa restrictions on visitors from China in a bid to boost the number of visitors to the country to 40 million by 2020, the Japanese government confirmed on May 13, Beijing Times reported.
Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on its website late last month that 5-year, multi-entry visas will be extended to 10 years, particularly for Chinese businessmen, academics and artists.Previously, multiple-entry individual visas were issued to high-income Chinese tourists with a 5-year validity.
According to the Japanese embassy in Beijing, eligible business people include those who work with China's large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, Chinese listed companies, joint ventures and subsidiaries invested in by Japanese listed companies. Also included are those who serve as directors or managers or hold higher positions, or work for at least a year continuously in an enterprise that has frequent business contact with a Japanese listed company.
Cultural and academic groups cover well-known artists, scholars in humanities and natural sciences, athletes, government officials, and professors and associate professors and lecturers at universities, among others.
Meanwhile, single-entry visa application procedures will also be simplified for students from 75 universities under the direct supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Education. These include registered undergraduates and post-graduates, as well as alumni who graduated from the 75 schools within 3 years.
Japan remains one of the favorite overseas destinations for Chinese holidaymakers. Data from the Japan National Tourism Organization showed that the number of Chinese tourists to Japan more than doubled last year to reach 5 million, up 107 percent over 2014. Although the number of Chinese visitors only accounted for one-fourth of the total number of visitors Japan received last year, their spending accounted for 41 percent of the total.
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