Russia-Japan visa regime on path towards simplification - ambassador

MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. Moscow and Tokyo are able to simplify the Russia-Japan visa regime, as both countries have taken active steps to facilitate visa regulations, Japanese Ambassador to Russia Toyohisa Kozuki said in an interview with TASS. He reminded that during January’s meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe have set the goal to increase the tourist flow up to 400,000 people by 2023. "As in 2017 the number of trips between our countries reached about 180,000, we have to increase [the tourist flow] over two times," the diplomat noted. "The visa regime is steadily moving towards simplification, and we aim to continue working on achieving the goal set by the leaders." The ambassador also pointed out that back in 2017, the Japanese government has decided to facilitate visa regulations for Russian citizens, which has led to an increase in the number of Russian tourists visiting Japan. Read more