Japan Plans to Make Easier Arrivals for Korean Tourists

Korean tourists will no longer need to stand in lines at immigration in all the Japanese airports starting next year.

On Monday, the Nihon Keizai Shimbum reported that the Japanese government will issue a pre-clearance program for Korean and Taiwanese tourists. Therefore, it means that the immigration procedures will take place at their home airports before their departure to Japan.

In December 1965, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) had established their alliance under the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, with Japan recognizing South Korea as the only legitimate government of the whole Korean peninsula.

Japan and South Korea are close neighbors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan explains their relationship as 'sharing fundamental values such as democracy, freedom, respect for basic human rights, common interests in maintaining regional peace and security. 

In 2002, a similar project was implemented during the Korea-Japan World Cup. However, it was suspended because Japan made a mandatory for all foreign visitors to get photographed and fingerprinted due to the growing global terrorism during that time.

Japan plans a negotiation of mutual arrangement with Korea and Taiwan. Later on, Japan plans to extend arrangements with other neighboring countries. The project means that it will dispatch immigration officers to major airports in Korea and Taiwan who will photograph and fingerprint tourists before they board on plane.

On the other hand, passengers in Japan only need to pass a manned customs and quarantine checkpoints. This measure is for reducing queues at Japan's crowded airport.

The number of tourists in Japan increased from 8.36 million in 2012 to 19.74 million in 2015. The Chinese tourists are the top visitors in Japan with an estimated 4.99 million tourists, followed by 4 million Korean tourists and 3.68 million Taiwanese tourists.

Japan plans to cut the immigration processing time to less than 20 minutes in the year 2020 and aims to double the number of foreign visitors in the country.