Japan's new visa policy for Chinese citizens will take effect next Monday, the Shanghai Morning Post reported on Wednesday. Japan will relax requirements for three-year, multi-entry visas and the availability of five-year, multiple-entry visas for high-income groups, said a consul at the Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai.
The move aims to attract more Chinese visitors, who are playing an increasingly important role in bolstering consumer spending and economic growth in Japan. Hitomi Takahashi is the manager of a sales division at the branch of the Japanese cosmetic maker Shiseido company at the luxurious shopping district in central Tokyo Ginza.
The standard visa for wealthy Chinese requires that they visit Okinawa or one of the three disaster-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima when seeing Japan for the first time. The requirement was implemented to promote reconstruction after the deadly 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.
Priority visa service provided by the United Kingdom in China will be expanded to include students applying for entry to the UK, officials announced Tuesday. Applicants can select priority visa service and will be informed about their visa status within five days.