Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced that from 1 June, Japan would require no quarantine or airport testing for arrivals from countries in the “low-rate group”, which includes the UK.

However, Japan’s Kyodo News said a pre-departure test would still be needed. Also from 1 June, Japan will increase international arrivals into the country from the current limit of 10,000 to 20,000 a day.

The Japan Times quotes government sources as saying it was hoping to open the country’s borders to a limited number of foreign tourists "as early as next month".

Simon King, co-founder of InsideJapan Jours parent Inside Travel Group, hailed the development as "the first major step towards reopening Japan’s borders to tourism".

“Although 20,000 international daily arrivals is still relatively small, the removal of testing requirements paves the way for a considerable increase in daily entry numbers that come with tourism," said King.

There are likely to be further statements from the Japanese government after test tours take place.

InsideJapan, King revealed, has almost 2,500 people waiting to travel this year.

“We believe that there is more significant easing of restrictions to come at the beginning of June and that Japan remains on track for a restart of inbound international tourism this summer,” added King.

“As a Japan travel specialist, this is hugely exciting and cannot come soon enough.”