Japan will begin a pre-arrival screening system for visa-free travelers in 2028, similar to ESTA in the United States and ETA in the United Kingdom. Foreign visitors from nations with visa exemptions for short stays will be required to provide information several days before traveling to Japan.
The country saw a record number of over 36 million foreign visitors in 2024, and is on pace to hit 40 million this year. The government has an ambitious goal of 60 million by the end of the decade, and this program will allow them to filter through visitors and make the immigration process more efficient.
According to Japan’s Immigration Services Agency, they currently pull data from airlines after a flight takes off, look through passenger information, and flag certain passengers who come under suspicion. However, these people still had to be processed at the airport, which created a slow process for both the visitors and the immigration facilities.
Under this new system, nationals of 71 countries with visa-free exemptions will be required to provide names, purpose of stay, addresses of accommodations, and other information. Passengers with a criminal record or a history of immigration and customs violations can be outright denied boarding, which will improve efficiency at the Japanese airports.
This does seem like an extra step for passengers, but the government hopes to create smoother operations at airports and push their foreign visitor numbers up.
Featured image by the author.
