August 10

China has allowed its travel agents to sell group tours to Japan for the first time in about three and a half years.

The Chinese government announced on Thursday the lifting of the ban that was implemented in January 2020 when the coronavirus first spread in China.

The government has been lifting bans on group tours to other countries since February. Tours are currently permitted to 60 countries, including Thailand, Indonesia and Russia.

Multiple sources said the Chinese Embassy in Japan informed Japan's Foreign Ministry that the restriction could be lifted as early as Thursday.

It is still unclear how soon Chinese travel agents will start selling travel packages, but the number of Chinese tourists to Japan is expected to increase dramatically.

The Japan National Tourism Organization says that about 9.59 million Chinese tourists visited Japan in 2019, before the pandemic. They accounted for 30 percent -- the largest portion -- of the overall number of inbound travelers.

NHK