Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ), Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (CCCJ), French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (CCI France Japon), German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan), Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ICCJ), and European Business Council in Japan (EBC) welcome the announcement that Japan will begin to gradually re-open its borders to foreign tourism and eliminate on-arrival COVID-19 testing requirements for many travelers from the major partner countries who are currently permitted to enter Japan.

Noting with appreciation the Prime Minister's recent pledge to introduce smoother entry processes similar to those of other G7 members, we recommend the government take several additional steps to further ease border control measures to facilitate an environment where people, goods, money and digital technologies can move freely, thus advancing Japan's economic growth. These include:

A. For business travelers from Japan's G7 partners,

1. restoring visa waiver eligibility and
2. eliminating requirements for new visas or travel approvals for business travelers already in possession of valid business visas.

B. In line with all other G7 countries,

1. rapidly resuming individual tourist travel;
2. for pre-arrival COVID-19 testing, accepting validity of less costly COVID-19 testing methods and reporting of test results in a broader range of forms;
3. eliminating COVID-19 testing at airports for all arriving passengers;
4. reopening to international travelers all of Japan's international airports; and
5. completely lifting the daily cap on international arrivals.

We applaud the government's steps over the past few months to bring Japan's border control measures into closer alignment with those of its G7 and other major global partners. These additional steps will help to ensure that Japan's entry policies are better aligned with those of G7 partners and will contribute to a more rapid recovery of Japan's economy.