Japan to double limit on foreign arrivals from next month

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will next month double its limit on foreign arrivals to 20,000 a day, the top government spokesperson said on Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference that travellers from most countries, about 80% of the total foreign entrants to Japan, would not be required to provide proof of negative COVID tests, nor would they have to quarantine on arrival.

This included people from all other members of the G7 group of developed economies.

Japan is accepting business travellers, foreign students and academics but not tourists, except a limited number in a trial of package tours.

Matsuno said experience with the trials would be used in later decisions to further reopen.

(This story fixes paragraph 2 to say 80% of foreign entrants are not only from G7 countries)

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)