Japan to ease visa rules for Chinese tourists

Beginning in July, individual Chinese tourists will soon be able to enter Japan easier under new rules that ease the criteria for approval of tourist visas.

Under the new law, non-tour group visitors from China will need to meet the minimum annual income of 60,000 yuan ($8788) or own a “gold” credit card. Current rules require an annual income of 250.000 yuan (36,617 EUR).

The Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that this change will expand the pool of eligible Chinese tourist visa applicants to about 16 million which is 10 times the current amount.

Last year, 1.01 million mainland Chinese visitors entered Japan, either in groups or individually.

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Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201005180351.html