Starting from 11am today, Taiwanese planning to travel to Japan can apply for an electronic visa online, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association said on Monday.
The Japanese government has launched the trial program to further relax travel restrictions that were imposed to contain COVID-19 and ease the workload of its embassies abroad.
The announcement comes as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that visa-waiver reciprocity has been restored with 55 nations and would be further expanded to more countries, including Japan.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, yesterday told a news conference that Japan’s decision to allow Taiwanese tourists to apply for an electronic visa online “is major progress,” adding that it shows that Tokyo is taking steady steps to reopen its borders.
“We have resumed visa-waiver programs in 55 nations worldwide. We are planning to reinstate the program in other countries as well, including Japan,” Wang said.
Wang said that the center is closely monitoring the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases this month and planning how to reopen the nation’s borders, including how COVID-19 tests should be administered for inbound travelers, the cap on inbound tourists and resuming visa-waiver programs.
Wang in an interview with Radio Taiwan International on Monday said that he hopes to see some improvement in the number of COVID-19 cases at the end of this month and the beginning of next month, adding that people would not need to wait until the Lunar New Year for borders to be fully reopened.
“We understand that international tourists are more likely to visit Taiwan if the requirement for a three-day quarantine period is lifted, but preventing COVID-19 remains the top priority and a steady reopening of the border remains the guiding principle,” he said.
Inbound and outbound tours would resume at “about the same time,” he added.
Former National Taiwan University Hospital infectious disease physician Kong Hsiang-chi (孔祥琪), who is also an expert on tours to Japan, said that the online visa application service removes a big obstacle for people wanting to travel to Japan.
The trial program applies to Taiwanese residing in Taiwan who plan to spend no more than 90 days upon a single entry to Japan, including tourists, business travelers and visitors of relatives, Kong said.
Those applying for multiple entries must still apply for visas at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, he said.
Travelers must still follow Japan’s new border measures announced on June 10 that require them to obtain a certificate proving that they have completed an application in Japan’s Entrants, Returnees Follow-up System (ERFS), Kong said.
The ERFS application shows that foreign nationals have made proper arrangements if they contract COVID-19 when traveling in Japan and it must be filed by organizations receiving visitors to Japan, such as companies, schools or groups inviting them, he said.
Taiwanese tourists would need to ask their travel agents to obtain an ERFS certificate for them, Kong said.
People who have already made an appointment at the association’s office in Taipei can still file applications online without having to cancel the appointment, while those making an appointment at the association’s office in Kaohsiung need to send an e-mail to cancel it, he said.
Electronic visas should be issued after five working days if there is no problem, although tourists must still pay the application fee at the association’s offices in Taipei or Kaohsiung upon receipt of the electronic visa in an e-mail, Kong said.
Indonesia has sent hundreds of riot police to a tiny island after protests broke out against a China-backed project that would displace thousands of residents. About 1,000 people protested in Batam City on Monday over a plan to develop Rempang island into a Chinese-funded economic zone, including the construction of a multibillion-dollar glass factory, that would displace about 7,500 people. Some protesters clashed with security forces outside a government agency, wielding machetes, Molotov cocktails and stones, police said, adding that dozens were arrested. Beijing has poured money into infrastructure and resource projects in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and its investments have previously caused
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
China would be making “a grave strategic mistake” if it tried to attack Taiwan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday. Asked by host Fareed Zakaria whether the US could repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Milley said: “It is entirely possible.” Milley reiterated that the US still maintains the Taiwan Relations Act, and that it wants “a peaceful outcome between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and whatever that is between those two peoples.” “Militarily, I think China would make a grave strategic mistake if they attempted to
RSS