Japan is planning to lift its daily entry cap, currently set at 50,000, and will consider fully reopening to international tourists by the end of October, according to Nikkei Asia.

The decisions to reopen to international visitors comes as the country recovers from record-breaking Covid-19 case numbers. Japan reported over 52,000 new Covid-19 cases and 145 new deaths on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, down from more than 200,000 new cases every day in late August.

Currently, non-resident foreigners are required to obtain 90-day single-entry visas and may only visit Japan on package tours. The country’s rigid border restrictions have made Japan an outlier among G-7 nations, which have eased their travel restrictions and completely reopened to international tourists.  

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara told a Fuji TV programme on Sunday that Japan will consider relaxing three restrictions — the daily arrival cap, restrictions on independent tourists and visa requirements for short-term visitors from countries previously eligible for a waiver — in the “not-so-distant future,” according to the Japan Times.

Japan had about 246,000 foreign visitors last year, the lowest figure since comparable data became available in 1964 and a blow to the nation's travel industry which had been heavily reliant on inbound tourists prior to the pandemic.