Japan plans to enable foreign talent and remote workers, known as "digital nomads," to stay longer in the country under a new visa system in order to boost economic growth and consumption.
Japan saw an estimated 2,320,600 foreign visitors in July, the highest number since arrivals began to plummet due to the COVID-19 pandemic and about 78 percent of the level in July 2019 before the outbreak, government data showed Wednesday.
The number of foreigners who stayed at hotels and other accommodation facilities in Japan topped 10 million in April for the first time since January 2020, government data showed on May 31, buoyed by a weaker yen and an increase in the number of international flights.
A committee of the Musashino city assembly in western Tokyo has approved a proposed ordinance that would allow foreign residents to vote in local referendums, with the measure set to be put to a plenary vote on Dec. 21.