Individual Chinese tourists can now visit Japan
A new rule regarding tourist visas went into effect this week, allowing Chinese individuals to visit Japan:
In the above TBS news clip about the first batch of individual Chinese tourists, a woman flashes her credit card and says she is going to use it to buy lots of Japanese style souvenirs.
Since 2000, tourist visas were issued to Chinese who came in tour groups, but now Chinese from certain cities who make at least 250,000 yuan a year will be allowed to visit by themselves. The income requirement is probably meant to allow rich Chinese to freely come to Japan and spend their money while restricting access to poorer individuals who might be tempted to overstay their visas and illegally settle in Japan.
A Japanese language article from Record China notes that some Japanese netizens are not happy about the idea of lots of Chinese getting easier access to their country. The bad manners of Chinese are mentioned a major reason why they are unwanted. (“Observe your schedules, obey the laws,don’t litter, and don’t hock up phlegm!”) Accompanying the article is a photo of a tourist site in China that has been horribly defaced by graffiti.
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