Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko invited Filipinos to visit the Land of the Rising Sun as the Japanese government started to relax its border control measures on Tuesday.

"My dear Filipino friends, thank you very much for your appreciation of Japan. Since the COVID-19 situation has improved we have started to relax entry procedures," Koshikawa said in a video message on Tuesday.

"Now you can enjoy individual travel to our country as the autumn approaches we invite you to Japan and experience the best of the season and discover the many charms of Japan," he added.

As part of its effort to ease the travel restrictions to revive their economy from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Japan will also remove its daily cap on the number of travelers allowed to enter their country which is set at 50,000, news reports said.

It will also allow visa-free travel for people from 68 countries and regions. Japan will also resume accepting foreign travelers on individual tours.

COVID-19 testing upon arrival will no longer be required for travelers with a certificate of a booster shot or a negative result from a test taken within 72 hours of departure, it added. Robina Asido/DMS