Japan’s Tourism Crackdown: Apply To Enter, Buy Insurance, And No More Automatic Tax Breaks

by Gary Leff on June 9, 2025

Japan plans to impose new requirements on visitors.

They will institute ‘electronic travel authority’ for visitors from visa-free countries. That’s a visa lite, since it means applying for advance permission to travel. This is similar to the U.S. ESTA program, the U.K.’s ETA, and the European ETIAS (which hasn’t been implemented yet). Broadly speaking, unencumbered international travel is fading away.
And there will be new private health insurance requirements for visitors.

The electronic travel authority rule isn’t new. It was planned for 2030, but now is expected to be moved forward.

The health insurance requirement is strange. About 1/3 of 1% of visitors received medical treatment in hospitals last year. And fewer than 1% of those left the country without paying for it. That’s been reported as a one-month cost of $425,000.

It’s super odd to make immigration policy decisions on the basis of $5 million in annualized cost. That suggests it’s more about local politics (anti-foreigner sentiment) than about addressing a real problem.

Japan is also making it more difficult to obtain tax refunds on shopping purchases for foreign residents. Currently there’s a point of sale tax exemption, however beginning November 1, 2026, visitors will pay tax and have to apply for a refund prior to departure. And shopping items abroad will not qualify for tax exemption. By requiring time and effort to present items for inspection on demand in order to receive a refund, most tourists won’t go through the hassle for most purchases.

With tourist arrivals up 28.5% year-over-year, there appears to be a political backlash even though visitors broadly benefit the Japanese economy.