Last Updated: Aug 18, 2022

When Will Japan Open Up?

My Latest Border Policy Forecasts

📷: Sorasak / Photo from Unsplash

OK folks, allow me to start this one off by saying that everything that comes after this sentence is PURE speculation based on what I know about Japan.

Lately, I’ve been getting lots of DMs and comments from you guys asking when Japan is going to open its borders to tourists again. The truth of the matter is that no one actually knows because the decision is entirely dependent on the present circumstances with the coronavirus. With that stated though, let’s quickly review what we know…

• Overseas, many countries are already in the endgame of the pandemic where people are largely now just “living with it” as best as they can.
• Many of Japan’s top competitors are already welcoming tourists back thereby putting competitive pressure on the country.
• The presently weak yen means that foreign visitors have a lot more purchasing power at their disposal than they did even half a year ago.
• The lack of a decision to open the borders is entirely political and not something that is correlated with logical policies designed to keep people safe.

Unless you’ve been in Japan and closely following the situation, that last statement might come out…