Japan has announced that it will shorten its group visa approval process for Chinese travellers, starting July 1.

This is part of an effort to boost tourism into the country after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Together with this new development, Japan has also announced that Chinese tourists will be able to visit Okinawa on multiple-entry visas, effective July 1.

Chinese authorities are also doing their part to help Japan. On April 29, China's National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have lifted their Japan travel alert.

According to a report in eTurbo News, CNTA Chairman Shao Qiwei stated at the Sino-Japan tourism seminar in Japan in early June that China will implement five specific measures to help prop up Japan's struggling tourism industry.

The measure include restarting group tours to Japan, opening Shanghai-Kagawa charter flights and restarting Shanghai-Ibaraki charter flights, inviting 100 children from Japan's quake zone to south China's Hainan Province for a short vacation and welcoming Japanese delegations to promote their tour routes and products.

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