[Ministry of Foreign Affairs] [Tuesday, Jan 6, 2015]
Dispatch of Experts in Response to the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in West African Countries
1． The Government of Japan has decided to newly dispatch two experts to the Republic of Sierra Leone through the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West African countries.
2． The experts being dispatched this time are Dr. Takuya Adachi from the Department of Infectious Diseases, Toshima Hospital, Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Medical Treatment Corporation (dispatched from January 3, 2015, to February 6, 2015), and Dr. Tomohiko Koibuchi from the Department of Infectious Diseases and Applied Immunology, Research Hospital of the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo (dispatched from December 28, 2014, to January 30, 2015).
3． This brings to 13 the total number of Japanese experts having participated or participating in the WHO mission.
[Ministry of Foreign Affairs] [Thursday, Jan 1, 2015]
Emergency Assistance to Malaysia in Response to the Flood Disaster
1. On Thursday, January 1st, the Government of Japan decided to provide emergency relief goods worth 19 million yen (water purifiers, generators, etc.) to Malaysia, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in response to the request from the Government of Malaysia, following serious damage caused by the floods in the country.
2. In Malaysia, recent heavy rain has caused the massive floods resulting in 17 deaths as well as the evacuation of over 107,000 people.
3. The Government of Japan decided to provide emergency assistance for the affected people from a humanitarian point of view as well as in light of the friendly relationship between Malaysia and Japan.
Message of condolences to Malaysia (Press Releases) (December 29, 2014 )
(http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press4e_000571.html)
[Ministry of Foreign Affairs] [Thursday, Jan 8, 2015]
The slogan for the PALM7
The slogan for the 7th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM7) which will be held in Iwaki-city, Fukushima prefecture on 22 and 23 May 2015 has been decided as below ;
We are Islanders
～Commitment to the Pacific from Iwaki, Fukushima: Building Prosperous Future Together～
* "We are Islanders"has been used since PALM5, emphasizing solidarity between Japan and the Pacific island countries.
* " Commitment to the Pacific from Iwaki, Fukushima" emphasizes the will of the leaders, who will gather for PALM7 at Iwaki-city, Fukushima, one of the affected areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake, to express their commitments on cooperation in the Pacific region.
* "Building Prosperous Future Together"means determination of the leaders working together to address the common challenges such as climate change and disaster risk reduction to ensure the stability and prosperity in the Pacific region now and in the future.
[Ministry of Foreign Affairs] [Tuesday, Jan 6, 2015]
Relaxation of Visa Requirements for Chinese Citizens
1. On January 19, the relaxed visa requirements for Chinese citizens that were announced on November 8, 2014, will come into effect.
2. The specific details of the relaxed requirements are as follows.
(1) Multiple-entry visa for applicants with a short-term business purpose, and for cultural or intellectual figures
The previous requirements, such as having records of travel to Japan or providing a letter of reference from a guarantor in Japan, will be abolished.
(2) Multiple-entry visas for individual tourists visiting Okinawa or one of the three prefectures in Tohoku
Previously, visas were given only to “applicants with sufficient financial capability and their families.” This financial requirement will be relaxed and multiple-entry visas will now be issued to “applicants with a certain level of financial capability and their families if applicants have a travel record as temporary visitor to Japan in the last three years.” Furthermore, the applicant’s family members, who have been hitherto not permitted to travel to Japan on their own, will be allowed to do so. In conjunction with this relaxation, the period of stay will be reduced from 90 days to 30 days.
(3) Multiple-entry visas for individuals with substantially high incomes
Multiple-entry visas (valid for five years; the period of stay allowed for each visit is 90 days) will be issued to “applicants with substantially high incomes and their families.” This visa category imposes no requirement to visit any specific destination in Japan.
3. Chinese tourists visiting Japan have increased in recent years. The expansion of people-to-people exchanges between Japan and China is contributing to greater mutual understanding between the two countries, to the government’s initiatives to promote Japan as a tourism-oriented country, as well as to vitalizing local economies in Japan. The abovementioned relaxation of visa requirements is expected to stimulate even further people-to-people exchanges between Japan and China.
(Reference)
Increase in the number of Chinese citizens visiting Japan (estimate of the Japan National Tourism Organization)
The number of Chinese citizens visiting Japan between January and November 2014 was 2,219,300 people (an increase of 82.2% year on year).