The Japanese government will start granting individual Chinese citizens tourist visas as of July this year to attract more Chinese sightseers to Japan, local media reported.

The measure will first be applied to those from three Chinese metropolises of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and then extended to individuals from around China a year later.

Eligible applicants for the individual travel visas, however, are limited to those with an annual income of more than 250,000 RMB (36,500 U.S. dollars).

The Japanese authorities made the decision against a backdrop of a dramatically shrinking influx of foreign tourists as the global financial crisis took a heavy toll on the world's second largest economy.

Source: Xinhua