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

GTBA founding chairman, Michelle Taylan, in a telephone interview on Saturday, said that accredited travel agencies were advised by VFS Global, the official partner of the Japan Embassy responsible for scheduling appointments and acceptance of e-passport renewals, among others, that the next available Japan visa slot is pushed to April.

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

Taylan 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 hassle and costly errand for their part.

“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.

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, and they were given the April 2025 slots.

“Sayang ang travel tax that the government is going to earn, at the same time, our members. 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 for them to be aware of or for the Japanese Embassy to resolve the issue. 

“At least maging aware ang VFS sa mga ganito at kung pano tayo makatulong. We are here to help not to criticize them,” she said.

Japan is one of the favorite nations being visited by Filipinos from December to February because of its cold climate, destinations, and delectable food.

In a report released in November last year by the Japan National Tourism Organization, foreign visitors to the Northeastern Asian country in October 2025 surged 17.6 percent from a year earlier 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, the number of visitors from mainland China was the largest, at about 8.2 million, up 40.7 percent year-on-year and accounting for some 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. (RAFFY AYENG)