A careful balance

Timely boost: Visitors walking along one of the lanes filled with touristy shops and restaurants leading to the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto. The Japanese government has significantly eased border control measures against Covid-19 to encourage foreign tourists to visit the country. – AFP

THE Japanese government has significantly eased border control measures against the novel coronavirus. It is important to steadily link the expansion of cross-border travel to economic revitalisation in the country.

The government has lifted the entry ban on tourists from abroad travelling on their own and removed the entry cap of 50,000 people a day. It also resumed visa waivers for short-term stays for people arriving from 68 countries and regions, including the United States and South Korea.