Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday that starting in early September, no pre-departure Covid-19 testing would be required for travellers who have received at least three vaccine doses, adding that he will explore increasing daily entry caps as early as next month.

Japan, which has imposed some of the most strict coronavirus border controls, currently requires negative PCR test results within 72 hours of departure for all entries, a practice that has been criticised as time-consuming.

After having virtual meetings with government ministers and medical experts earlier Wednesday, Kishida told reporters in an online news conference that from Sept. 7, entrants who have received at least one booster vaccine can waive the pre-entry test.

“We plan to gradually ease border controls to allow entry procedures to be as smooth as those of other Group of Seven countries,” Kishida said from his official residence, where he has been on duty while isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.

Kishida also stated that his government plans to increase the daily cap for incoming travellers, which is now set at 20,000, "as soon as possible." According to media reports, the government is considering more than doubling the daily cap to 50,000 as soon as next month.

“Our fight against the virus is not easy, but we should not be too afraid and instead take into consideration the characteristics of the omicron variant,” Kishida said. “We will speed up our responses while balancing the infection measures and social and economic activities as much as possible.”

Kishida said Japan plans to shorten the self-isolation period for Covid-19 patients from the current 10 days for those with symptoms and one week for those without symptoms. Officials are finalizing those details, he said.

In June, Japan partially opened its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in two years but only allowed those who agree to join package tours with guides. The number of entrants has dwindled under those restrictions.

Business organisations in and outside of Japan have urged the country to ease border controls in order to support the economy, especially the tourism industry, which has been severely harmed by the pandemic. However, many Japanese are wary of further easing border controls because the country is dealing with the seventh wave of infections.

Clinics have been flooded with patients suffering from mild symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and coughs, due to a shortage of testing and test kits in pharmacies and online.