Members of the Global Tourism Business Association Inc. (GTBA) have sought the help of the Japanese Embassy in the ongoing scarcity of slots for securing a Japanese visa, as tourism stakeholders, made up of travel agents, are having a hard time helping their client travelers secure the much-needed document to enter Japan.

GTBA founding chairman, Michelle Taylan, in an interview on Friday, said accredited travel agencies were advised by VFS Global, the official partner of the Japan Embassy responsible for scheduling appointments and accepting e-passport renewals, among other services, that the next available Japan visa slots had been pushed back to April.

Taylan said the VFS website’s appointment scheduling system is not showing any available slots either.

She said most of their members are exerting due diligence to find solutions to the problem, even considering going to Cebu or Davao to secure slots, a costly exercise.

“We are asking the embassy to open more slots for Metro Manila, because what’s the use of the appointment procedure? The role of the VFS is to secure slots for visa applicants, and that’s not what’s happening right now,” she told DAILY TRIBUNE.

She said that even for travel in March 2025, no slots are available on VFS Global’s website to secure a Japanese visa, since the next available slot is in April.

Further, Taylan said one of her members has a supposed travel group on 15 March and applied in the early days of January 2025. Unfortunately, no slots are available for them until April 2025.

“Such a waste of travel tax. Most likely, these clients will choose another destination instead of Japan because that April date remains uncertain if they will get slots,” she said.

Taylan clarified that they are raising the concerns not to drag VFS into controversy, but to ensure VFS is aware of the issue or to have the Japanese Embassy resolve it.

“At the very least, VFS should be made aware of these issues and how we can help. We are here to help, not to criticize them,” she said.

Japan is one of the favorite destinations of Filipino tourists from December to February because of its cold climate, attractions, and healthy food.

In a report released in November last year by the Japan National Tourism Organization, foreign visitors to the Northeast Asian country in October 2025 surged 17.6 percent year over year to 3,896,300.

The cumulative number of visitors from abroad in January-October 2025 totaled 35,547,200.

Of the cumulative figure for the first 10 months of 2025, visitors from mainland China accounted for the largest share, at about 8.2 million, up 40.7 percent year-on-year, and accounting for about 20 percent of the total.

On the other hand, the number of Filipino tourists visiting Japan rose in the first quarter of 2025, with an estimated 211,200 arrivals, a 5.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, said.

Since the country has a free trade agreement with Japan through the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, it’s unfair that Visa slots restrict Filipinos while Japanese nationals have carte blanche access to the country.