TOKYO – The Japanese government has agreed to consider extending its current visa exemption for Thai nationals as the exemption is set to expire soon.
Japan has been offering visa exemptions for Thai visitors since July 2013 to revive its tourism industry which was badly hit after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
The country extends this temporary measure every three years with the latest visa exemption validity set to expire in 2025, prompting fears that the policy might not be renewed.
A fresh meeting in this regard has proven to be fruitful as Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa met in Tokyo this week and discussed the issue.
The focus of the meeting was investment and trade; however, visa exemption was also brought under discussion with the Japanese side assuring Thailand that it would consider extending the visa exemption.
The policy in place permits Thai tourists to enter Japan without a visa for up to 15 days and a visible effect of the policy is that over 900,000 Thais visited Japan last year and contributed to its economy besides cementing people-to-people contact.
The government of Thailand and especially Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin are making every possible effort to ink visa-free agreements with other countries. A notable success in this regard is the visa-free agreement inked with China on a permanent basis; the agreement is effective from March this year.
Thailand has been progressively easing visa regulations for travelers from various countries, including Russia. The government recently announced a 60-day visa-free policy for Russian visitors, effective from May 1 to July 31, 2024.
This new policy replaces the previous arrangement, which allowed Russian citizens to stay in Thailand for up to 90 days, from November 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has gone a mile more and has also advocated for a joint visa program with five neighboring countries to attract long-haul and high-spending travelers. Leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam have explored plans for a Schengen-style visa though nothing official has been announced as of now.
The pro-tourism measures of Thailand are bearing fruit as during the first quarter of 2024, the country hosted over nine million tourists.
