Japan decided to abolish the visa requirements for the Moldovans who hold diplomatic and service passports. The announcement was made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Taro Kono in a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Tudor Ulianovschi in Tokyo.

Contacted by IPN, Valeriu Rusu, adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova, said a political decision of principle was taken. After the legislative procedures are completed, the date when the visas will be abolished will become known.

In the meeting, Tudor Ulianovschi said the abolition of the visa requirements is an important step towards diversifying the high-level contacts and opening talks on the elimination of visas for holders of ordinary passports.

As of January 1 this year, the Moldovan businesspeople, people of culture and members of the sports and academic communities can easier get short-stay (90 days) visas for Japan. In the case of citizens who travel to Japan for pleasure, the obligation to hold a letter of guarantee was excluded. In 2007 Moldova a unilaterally abolished the visas for Japanese citizens.