Major Japanese news agency Kyodo News recently reported in its Chinese edition that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs just announced that from November 30th until the end of next year, Japanese people will be exempted from short-term entry visas.
This is the first time since 2020 that visa exemption for Japanese citizens has been restored. The maximum period of visa-free stay has been increased from 15 days to 30 days. With China’s domestic economy weakening, this move is believed to be intended to promote economic exchanges and trade with Japan.
Japanese visa exemption was suspended in March 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. After the pandemic, in order to attract foreigners to travel to China, China expanded the visa-free scope to about 30 countries, mainly in Southeast Asia and Europe, but did not resume it for Japan on the grounds that “reciprocal measures” were needed. However, as of now, Japan does not offer visa exemption for Chinese travelers.
Source: Kyodo Chinese, November 22, 2024
https://china.kyodonews.net/news/2024/11/66952023a9a8.html