Japan eager to welcome tourists from abroad amid cheap yen

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Individual travelers will be able to visit Japan without visas beginning Tuesday, just like in pre-COVID-19 times. Electronics stores, airlines and various tourists spots have big hopes for a revival of their businesses. Japan kept its borders closed to most foreign travelers during much of the pandemic. Only packaged tours have been allowed since June. The yen has weakened sharply against the dollar, giving some travelers much heftier buying power and making Japan nearly irresistible to bargain hunters. About 32 million foreign tourists visited Japan in 2019. The target had been 40 million for 2020.