BEIJING - China is poised to approve the resumption of Japan-bound group tours for its citizens, lifting restrictions introduced in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sources said, in a move expected to revitalize Japan's inbound tourism sector.

The imminent restart, which comes amid bilateral tensions over Tokyo's plan to start releasing treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, could indicate Beijing's intention to boost people-to-people exchanges.

• Return of Chinese tourists to boost travel sector in 2023: business group

In a written explanation by the Chinese Embassy in Japan to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Beijing said restrictions on Japan-bound group tours will be lifted on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the bilateral relationship.

At present, Chinese individuals are permitted to travel to Japan.

In February and March, China announced the resumption of overseas group tours for Chinese citizens after a roughly three-year COVID hiatus. But the tours were limited to a total of 60 countries, with Japan excluded from the list.

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan amounted to 9.59 million in 2019, accounting for some 30 percent of all inbound tourists. They spent a total of 1.77 trillion yen ($12 billion), official data showed.

Arrivals from China stood at about 208,500 in June, down 76.3 percent from the same month in 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Japanese tourism industry representatives have called for the resumption of Japan-bound Chinese group tours.

==Kyodo

Watch more News on iWantTFC