Japan-bound passengers on June 21, 2024, check in for departure at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul's Gangseo-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Seon Ah

To mark the 60th anniversary of normalization of bilateral ties, Korea and Japan next month will set up immigration lanes exclusively for each other's nationals for 30 days, the Japanese daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) said on May 15.

Japanese-only counters are scheduled at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul and Gimhae International Airport in Busan. Those for Korean visitors arriving in Japan will be set up at Haneda Airport in Tokyo and Fukuoka Airport.

Through lines exclusively for each other's nationals separate from those for general foreign arrivals, the two countries aim to shorten immigration screening for each other's tourists. Both sides will review making this system permanent based on the results of trial operations.

"A Japanese airport has never before designated a separate immigration lane for nationals from a certain country," Nikkei said. "The Japanese government believes that stimulation of human exchange is a steppingstone toward promote bilateral relations."

sofiakim218@korea.kr