Japan’s cabinet on June 19 formally approved raising foreign-visitor visa fees to five times their current levels, reports Caixin. The fee for a single-entry visa will rise to 15,000 yen ($93), from 3,000 yen. The fee for a multiple-entry visa will increase to 30,000 yen, from 6,000 yen.
The visa-fee increase mainly affects countries and regions whose citizens must apply for visas in advance, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam and India.
The fee increase comes as Chinese travel to Japan is falling sharply. The Japan National Tourism Organization estimated on June 17 that foreign visitors to Japan totaled 3.559 million in May, down 3.6% from a year earlier and marking a second consecutive monthly decline. Mainland Chinese visitors numbered 313,000, down 60.4% from a year earlier, the sixth straight monthly drop, amid worsening China-Japan relations.