Japan said Tuesday it would relax its visa regulations for visitors from China starting October 17.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told the Forum on Sino-Japanese Relations in Tokyo that the plan that was first announced in April when he visited China. It said the length of stay would be extended from 5 to 10 years for Chinese nationals applying for multiple entry visas for short-term business trips and for cultural or academic activities, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China's Foreign Ministry said the number of Chinese and Japanese people traveling to each other's country was 4.71 million person/times in 2013.

"Japan tries to promote non-governmental level exchanges, especially when both sides have many disputes and problems on the government-to-government level," Huang Dahui, director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that Chinese people are also expected to form the largest foreign audience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Also starting in October, Chinese graduate students and alumni of the universities of the Ministry of Education of China will be allowed to submit a certificate of student status or graduation, instead of a document, to confirm financial capability previously required, the Japanese Foreign Ministry also said on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

"Japan needs to open itself to the world to boost economic growth," Huang said. "Aside from attracting tourists, Japan's education market also needs support from China."