Japan's government plans to introduce a new electronic authentication system to strengthen checks on foreigners entering the country.



The system is called the Japanese version of the United States' ESTA, or Electronic System for Travel Authorization.



Visitors from some 70 countries and regions exempted from travel visas will be eligible for online immigration checks prior to leaving for Japan.



The government had aimed to introduce the system by 2030.



But on Wednesday, Justice Minister Suzuki Keisuke told a Diet committee that the process must be accelerated in response to the recent increase in foreign visitors to Japan.



He said the government will now aim to launch the service in the fiscal year starting in April 2028.



There have been cases of visa-waivered foreigners overstaying and working illegally in Japan.



The new system is aimed at preventing this, while bolstering immigration screening from an anti-terrorism perspective.