On March 10, the government approved a cabinet decision on a draft amendment to the Immigration Control Act, including the creation of the JESTA (electronic travel authorization system), which will tighten immigration control for foreign visitors to Japan.
In 2025, there will be approximately 38.46 million new short-term visitors to Japan for tourism and other purposes, 80% of whom are eligible for visa exemption (no need to have a visa issued at a local diplomatic establishment before leaving Japan).
The problem with the current law is that even if strict landing inspections are conducted at the water’s edge to deny landing to travelers who intend to remain in the country illegally, if they remain illegally after landing, a great deal of labor and expense is incurred to remove them from the country. In addition, with the increase in the number of new arrivals, the waiting time at the landing screening tends to become longer.
The electronic travel authorization system is the Japanese version of a system already in place in the United States and other countries. This system allows visa waiver applicants for the purpose of sightseeing, etc. to provide authentication information prior to their departure from Japan, rather than being screened for the first time after landing in Japan, and to issue airline tickets and board passenger aircraft only after receiving authentication by the Director General of the Immigration and Visa Management Agency.
On the other hand, after landing screening, a walk-through gate will be used to shorten the waiting time by omitting the landing permit stamp.
Eligible foreign nationals are those who are exempted from visa requirements and who are staying for a short period of time for sightseeing or other purposes. Those who enter a port of entry on a cruise ship and land for sightseeing. Those who enter the country temporarily to transfer ships, etc.
Carriers of passenger aircraft and cruise ships are obliged to report the name and other details of the reserved person to the Director General of the Immigration and Residency Management Agency by a specified period when issuing a ticket or boarding pass, and if they are notified that the person is not fit to enter the country, they are not allowed to take the subject person on a passenger aircraft or cruise ship (violators are subject to a fine of (Violators will be sanctioned with a fine).
By making JESTA certification a condition for landing, the entry of foreigners without certification or visas will be prohibited and immigration control will be tightened.
© Source travel watch