Japan will launch an online travel authorization system for visitors, On Friday, the government announced a plan to implement an online system for travel permits for visa-exempt visitors.
The plan was included in the government’s revised comprehensive package of measures for accepting foreign personnel, which was adopted during the day meeting of concerned ministers at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The new system will see foreign visitors who are exempt from obtaining short-stay visas submit their information online, such as the purpose of their stay, before entering Japan.
The aim of the introduction of the system is to prevent illegal residence. The Immigration Services Agency will decide the details of the arrangement by referring to the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, which the United States operates in part in an effort to prevent terrorism.
The Japanese government initially put together the comprehensive package in 2018 and has revised it annually since then.
The latest revision included the addition of 218 measures, including supporting the development of foreigners’ Japanese language skills. This is in view of the planned launch of a new workplace skills development program in the country, which will replace the current overseas technical internship programme.
