Japan introduces e-visas for visitors

Japan is making it easier for visitors to enter the country by introducing an electronic visa system. Timed to coincide with the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, the online system will first be available for Chinese tourists for single entry visa applications. Visitors from China made up nearly 60 per cent of all visas issued last year. Chinese visitors have been flocking to Japan as relations between the two countries thaw after years of fractious relations over a territorial dispute and wartime history, the Kyodo News Agency reported. The e-visas will eventually be made available to other nationalities, government sources said, as Japan looks to attract 40 million inbound travellers by 2020 and 60 million by 2030. Last year, a record 28.7 million foreign visitors vacationed in Japan, up almost 20 per cent on the previous year.