Last week, the country lifted some of the strictest pandemic border controls in the world when it removed a cap of 50,000 arrivals a day, reinstated waivers for short term visas and dropped a rule requiring tourists to visit as part of group tours.
The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, is pinning his hopes on free-spending visitors taking advantage of a weak yen, which recently reached a 32-year low against the dollar, to boost businesses and resurrect Japan’s reputation as one of the world’s must-see countries.
In Gion, a popular district in Kyoto, local shop owners greeted the return of tourists with a mixture of optimism and trepidation. The last couple of years have been really tough,” said Hiroko Inoue, the owner of Furouan, a kimono shop. There were no foreign visitors and very few Japanese tourists. My guess is that sales were less than 1% of those before Covid-19.”
Just over 500,000 foreign visitors have come to Japan so far this year, a fraction of the record 31.8 million who arrived in 2019.
Denne historien er fra October 19, 2022-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 19, 2022-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Beaumont may step in at RFU if Ilube quits over pay fiasco
Sir Bill Beaumont could be parachuted into the Rugby Football Union as interim chair in the event Tom Ilube falls on his sword amid the botched handling of the executive pay scandal engulfing the game.
'An exciting new era' Everton owners promise return to glory days after £500m deal
The Friedkin Group vowed to restore Everton to their \"rightful place in the Premier League table\" after completing a takeover that brought the turbulent era of Farhad Moshiri to an end.
Friedkin Group brings hope of much-needed stability and ambition
The Friedkin Group's takeover of Everton represents a momentous day for those exhausted and resigned to calamity by the tenure of Farhad Moshiri.
A humble Hamilton hero who was born to score
Ex-coaches in New Zealand on Chris Wood's rise from selfless schoolboy to poster boy at Nottingham Forest
Solanke puts Spurs through despite Forster's blunders
Like a song that changes time signature for the hell of it, like a friend that inexplicably blanks you, like a match report that noodles away for ages instead of just telling you what happened, Tottenham Hotspur remain medically incapable of doing things the simple way.
“The World Cup loss fuelled a fire in me to become the best’
Ellie Kildunne's infectious enthusiasm for the women's game has her dreaming of a Twickenham final in 2025
'Usyk is fighting for his country': Dubois tips Fury to lose rematch
Daniel Dubois, the IBF world heavyweight champion, believes that Oleksandr Usyk will again defeat Tyson Fury in Riyadh tomorrow night.
Coe pledges radical reform in bid for IOC presidency
Sebastian Coe has promised to radically transform the International Olympic Committee if he is elected its next president in March - and says his track record of delivering at the London 2012 Games and at World Athletics shows he is the right choice for the leading job in sport.
Football's new fetish Forget Nicolas Jover and stylish set-piece coaches, bring on the directors of vibes
It's 25 October 2012. Those of you who follow the Austrian regional leagues won't need reminding.
Rush to start work caused enormous cost overruns, says new boss of HS2
Enormous budget overruns on the HS2 high-speed railway have been blamed by its new chief executive on a \"rush to start\", as the Department for Transport admitted it did not know what the line would cost.
