On Wednesady, A foreign cruise ship docked in Shizuoka Prefecture port, becoming the first ship to arrive in Japan in nearly three years due to COVID-19 border control measures that were eased only recently.
The anticipated arrival came after the country reversed its government-mandated suspension of cruises, and now seeks to expand the number of ports that accept foreign cruise ships to 100 by 2025, as well as boost the number of tourists to a pre-pandemic peak of more than 2 million.
The cruise ship Amadea's stop at the port of Shimizu in the central Japan city of Shizuoka was the first of 212 vessels scheduled to arrive in the country in 2023, with some ships expected to make multiple port calls.
The Amadea, operated by German firm Phoenix Reisen GmbH, with its approximately 500 passengers and 300 crew, docked around 8 a.m. in clear weather with nearby Mt. Fuji in view.
The Japanese government decided last November to reopen ports to cruise ships due to worries the nation may lose its share of the lucrative cruise traveler market after countries in Europe and North America began reopening around June 2021.
Acceptance of foreign cruise ships was suspended in March 2020 following a mass coronavirus outbreak on the Diamond Princess, which caused thousands to be quarantined in Yokohama in February 2020 and left 13 of the over 700 infected crew and passengers dead.
Follow the latest news on Google News
