Foreign entries into Japan surge 12-fold in 2022 on eased COVID steps

The number of foreigners entering Japan surged nearly 12-fold to 4.20 million people in 2022, as COVID-19 border control measures were eased gradually and the number of inbound tourists spiked, the Immigration Services Agency's data showed Friday.The figure is up sharply from around 353,000 in 2021 but far below the record 31.19 million in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to the data.Foreign entries began rising sharply in October when the government removed almost all border restrictions, such as the daily cap for overseas arrivals and the entry of foreign tourists only via package…READ FULL ARTICLE