Japan considers to further open doors to Chinese tourists

Japanese Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said during talks with Shao Qiwei, chairman of China National Tourism Administration on Sunday that Japan would consider to further relax the income restriction on Chinese tourists, according to reports from Japan's Kyodo News agency.

For now, Japan only gives tourist visas to Chinese individuals who earn at least 250,000 yuan ($36,600) a year.

It is understood that some one million Chinese tourists visited Japan last year. Japan hopes to ease visa restrictions to substantially increase this number and stimulate consumption.

Japanese government began to issue visas to group of tourists in 2000, and in 2008 it started to grant a tourist visa to Chinese affluent families.

From this July, Japan lifted restrictions on personal travel visa issuance to Chinese people, with the applicant's annual income reaching at least 250,000 yuan ($36,600) a year.　

By People's Daily Online