Malaysians can start planning that long-awaited trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, because Japan is opening up for tourism again next month!

Japan has amended their strict Covid-19 travel restrictrictions for 36 countries which include Malaysia, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Hong Kong. This change in regulations from Japan’s Foreign Ministry now allows Japanese citizens to travel freely to these countries as well.

However, the Foreign Ministry lowered its travel advisories for these countries from the third highest — Level 2 on its four-point scale, to Level 1, which advises Japanese nationals travelling to those 36 countries to “stay fully alert.”

Following that, there are 15 other nations that have been upgraded from Level 3 to Level 2 being seven countries in the Middle East and Africa, six in Europe, and two in South America. Japan completely prohibits citizens from travelling to all Level 3 countries.

“On the whole, the world is seeing a downward trend in the number of new infection cases and deaths, and the risk of suffering severe symptoms and deaths has been seen receding,” the ministry said in a press release.

There are 109 nations and regions remaining under the Level 2 warning, including 30 Asian countries such as China, South Korea, and India. Thirty-five European nations, including Germany, France, and Italy, remain at Level 2, while 41 countries remain unchanged at Level 3.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida saying Japan will begin accepting foreign tourists in stages starting June 10 after suspending all foreign arrivals for two years.

ONLY GUIDED TOURS ARE ALLOWED FOR NOW

The Japanese government will only allow guided tourism tours during these initial stages of reopening as a way of reducing the potential spread of any potential infections. Two more airports in Okinawa and Hokkaido have also received the authorised green light to accept international flights along with 5 other pre-approved airports.

“We will continue to assess the situation, and intend to make a step-by-step return to accepting people as in normal times,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at an international event in Tokyo on Thursday.

For now, tours to Japan will only be accepted from the “blue” list of 98 countries and regions presenting the lowest risk of infections, and travellers from these countries are exempted from testing and isolation measures.