Japan decided Tuesday to ease the issuance of short-term business visas to Chinese nationals working at Japanese-affiliated firms in China to promote bilateral business cooperation, the Foreign Ministry said.
The Japanese government will issue multiple-entry visas valid for one year to Chinese working at companies registered with Japanese chambers of commerce in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other cities where Japanese diplomatic offices are located, the ministry said.
The visas will be valid for up to three years in some cases, the ministry said. The new arrangement will take effect March 15.
Under the current system, Chinese wanting to make short business trips to Japan must apply for entry visas for each visit. The single-entry visas are valid for 90 days.
The move is based on a proposal to ease visa issuance to Chinese information technology experts made by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji during his visit here in October.
The change, however, will apply not only to IT workers but to anyone involved with Japanese-affiliated businesses, in an effort to promote overall business exchanges between Japan and China.
Short-term business visas are issued to foreign nationals for the purpose of conducting business negotiations and transactions with Japanese companies as well as market research, advertising and job hunting.
In a similar move, Japan in February eased the issuance of short-term business visas to Indian nationals in IT to promote exchanges between IT experts of the two countries.