Originally Posted by RohanDXB

One thing that has perplexed me in all this is that Japan has invalidated visas issued before 2020. I assume what that means is that my five-year tourist / visitor visa issued in 2019 cannot be used in the future when Japan opens up to tourists (whenever that might be) and that I will need to apply for a new visa.

I am not aware of any other country imposing such a measure (Schengen, US, UK, etc) and I'm just curious as to why they would take such an extreme step. What security loophole did they expect to close by invalidating visas? With the existing rules no airline would allow me to board even with that visa valid and it seems needlessly extreme to do it. Maybe some of the members here more experienced with Japanese bureaucracy might be able to help shed some light on this?

I don't have any travels planned to Japan so this is just out of curiousity.

Ro