Japan hopes to boost its attraction as a destination for Asian tourists by allowing visa-free entry for people from the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Japan attracted just over 10 million visitors last year, up 24% from 2012, and, with the value of the yen in decline, the number of Japanese going abroad was 17.5 million, down 5.5% from the previous year. But with Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympics, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to boost the number of incoming visitors to 20 million by the time of the opening ceremony.
