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Japan eases visa restrictions for Russian tourist groups

Russian tourists will need only to fill in a visa application form and provide a passport

© Alexander Scherbak/TASS

TOKYO, October 1. /TASS/. The easing of Japan’s visa restrictions for Russian tourist groups takes effect on Monday. This is the second move of its kind, as Tokyo eased visa restrictions for Russians on January 1, 2017, which led to an increase in the Russian tourist inflow to the country.

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Japan to simplify visa application process for Russian tourists starting October

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the step on September 10 following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. The Japanese Foreign Ministry told TASS that members of organized tourist groups would need to provide less documents when applying for visas.

A new visa has been introduced for Russians travelling to Japan in organized groups. The new visa will be valid for a period of up to 30 days. Russian tourists will need only to fill in a visa application form and provide a passport to obtain such a visa, while in the past they had to provide other documents as well, including salary certificates and bank statements.

Visa formalities

In late 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an official visit to Japan. The parties agreed that Japan would ease visa restrictions for Russians, particularly businessmen, cultural workers and researchers.

Visa validity periods for multiple short-stay visas allowing a continuous stay of up to 90 days was extended to five years. Besides, Japan also started to issue multiple-entry visas valid for up to three years, as well as short-stay visas allowing a continuous stay of up to 30 days. In addition, Japan canceled the requirement according to which Russians had to submit a guarantee letter from their Japanese hosts when applying for an entry visa individually.

The move led to a significant increase in the Russian tourist inflow to Japan. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the number of Russian tourists visiting the country grew by 40.8% in 2017.

Evolving relations

Russian-Japanese relations entered a new stage in 2016, when Abe put forward an eight-point cooperation plan. Since then, the two countries’ leaders have held more than 20 meetings.

The cooperation plan implies boosting ties in the fields of energy, small business, tourism and the industrialization of Russia’s Far East. In addition, Moscow and Tokyo are also expected to cooperate in the area of cutting-edge technologies, including the nuclear energy sector, and conduct humanitarian exchanges. According to earlier reports, over 60 projects out of 150 developed in accordance with the plan are already being implemented.

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