Gabriele Vogt and Sian Qin discuss why the Kishida-administration decided to re-open its borders to international travelers in October 2022. They argue that three factors were decisive in pushing this decision: an international convergence of covid-19 countermeasures with a tendency of relaxation; a growing political opposition within the LDP to closed borders, accelerated also by the Prime Minister’s inability to adequately address his plummeting support rates; and a persisting economic slump paired with a depreciation of the Japanese Yen.
Read the full story here: https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/11/02/japan-warily-welcomes-back-international-travellers/