JAPANESE Ambassador Endo Kazuya said yesterday said the opening of its new visa processing center next week to hasten new applications mark a “golden age” in Phiippine-Japan relations.
Kazuya said the Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC), which is set to start operations on April 7, reflects the deeper people-to-people relation between the two countries.
“This development marks an important milestone in the relations between Japan and the Philippines. Such improvement and the influx of Filipinos wanting to visit Japan reveal the improving people-to-people ties between our countries,” he said
“I believe that the best indicator and proof of the ‘golden age’ of our relations is best demonstrated not merely between our governments but through exchanges among our peoples that bring our nations even closer together,” he added.
Under the current system, all applications for Japanese visa are handled by accredited travel agencies as the embassy does not accept walk-in applications.
The Japanese embassy said applications will no longer be accepted by accredited agencies once the JVAC opens on April 7.
It said all short-term and long-term visa applications will be handled by VFS Service, a visa outsourcing and technology services company for governments and diplomatic missions.
VFS branches will be set up in Makati City, Paranaque City, Quezon City, Cebu City, and Davao City.
All visa applicants need to first secure an appointment online using the VFS Philippines websites before going to the JVAC. They also need to pay a visa fee and a center usage fee of P520 pesos.
Kazuya said the JVAC will be capable of processing a higher volume of visa applications per day while ensuring a faster and seamless system, though the envoy did not say how many visa application it can process.
Last month, the embassy said efforts are being done to process Filipino tourist visas within five working days.
Kazuya said 87,100 Filipino tourists visited Japan in November 2024 alone, which is a 37 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Japanese government data show that more than 710,000 Filipinos visited the country from January to November 2024, a 30.7 percent increase from the same period in 2023.
