08/18/2026
Japan has officially updated its short-term visa waiver framework, granting 90 days of visa-free travel to citizens from 74 countries and territories worldwide.
While the news brings major travel upgrades to four Caribbean nations—The Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Suriname—a stark regional divide has emerged.
Prominent nations including Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Haiti, and Belize have been completely excluded from the new list.
Nationals from these countries must still navigate the traditional, multi-step standard visa application process before booking their flights to Tokyo.
For the selected nations, the agreement removes pre-departure embassy hurdles for tourism, business, and personal travel—provided travelers hold an ICAO-compliant electronic passport or machine-readable passport.
Is your country on the list?
