(Last updated on June 03, 2022)
With Japan reopening this 2022, we hope to see their capital, Tokyo, bustling with tourists and citizens out and about once more. Exciting! Despite being a small country, it is home to extensive and heavily populated metropolitan areas. You’ll see streets and trains packed mostly with people going in and out of work when you visit Japan.
Japan is a fascinating nation full of economic and corporate power, rich culture, technological prowess, and unique features. The Japanese ethnic group makes up 98.5 per cent of the country’s population. While various parts of Japan, notably the central Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe, are recognized for their unique, colourful regional accents, the nation speaks the same language. Harmony, consensual decision-making, and social conformance are important ideals in traditional Japanese society and culture.
It is also one of the safest nations worldwide, with one of the smallest crime rates in the world. Which makes it one of the most sought-after travel destinations all the more. The Japanese take pleasure in their cleanliness, and you may be shocked at how spick and span the streets are when you first arrive. All places, including hotels and restaurants, are usually pristine and scented.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown in countries worldwide, travelling had to be suspended. Countries like Japan have not fully opened their borders. Before travelling, leaving, or returning to Japan, you need to have the necessary information.
Tourism was a big part of Japan’s economy, but tourists haven’t been able to get in since strict border controls were put in place in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic began. A few rules have been changed to make it easier for students and some business travellers to get in. But individual tourists still can’t go, even though business leaders want to start tourism again to take advantage of the yen’s 20-year lows.
This latest decision comes as local businesses and the international community push Japan to reopen the border after the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Japan is planning to test open its borders to limited groups of vaccinated foreign visitors shortly, potentially saving the country’s struggling tourism economy. Visitors must have had three COVID-19 vaccine injections and be part of a package trip with a set itinerary. The restricted reintroduction of incoming tourism will be an experiment, with the program being extended if illnesses do not spread.
Currently, Japan’s border travel restrictions allow 10,000 new entries every day, although this does not include leisure travellers. Citizens, residents, researchers, students, residents’ family members, and business travellers may now enter with prior clearance. Depending on their origins, some may be subject to quarantine.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Japan has closed its borders to international travellers. However, as the situation has improved with Covid-19 recovery, it has been gradually loosening its travel limitations, welcoming businesses, technical interns, and students.
The Japan Tourism Agency stated that there are no plans to remove border restrictions, as other nations have done. The administration is contemplating raising the daily entry limit to 20,000 persons in June. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, international visitors to Japan fell 99.2% from 2019 to 245,900 in 2021.
The test was initially scheduled for late last year, but it was postponed due to the spread of the Covid 19 variant called Omicron. The Covid-19 testing and quarantine rules for people arriving in Japan will divide countries and regions into three groups according to the infection situation.
Before you travel to Japan it’s important to take note that you need to be included in Japanese sponsored travel agencies’ guided tour packages.
Travellers from the lowest-risk “blue” group and fully vaccinated tourists from the “yellow” group will be exempt from testing upon arrival in Japan and quarantining at home, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference. They will still need to show a pre-departure negative test result. Currently, there are 98 countries under the ‘blue’ category.
People arriving from countries and regions in the highest-risk “red” group will be asked to take Covid-19 tests when they visit Japan. People in this category have to stay for three days at quarantine facilities.
Those in the remaining “yellow” group need to be tested for Covid-19 upon arrival and stay for three days at home or quarantine facilities, But this does not apply to people who have received their third vaccine dose.
The following are the travel requirements as of June 03:
Test Certificates
Go to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare website for further information on the test certificate requirements. Please validate the testing technique, specimen collecting method, and testing time frame ahead of time.
Visit Japan Web Service
An online service was launched to assist passengers entering Japan to comply with immigration requirements in one go. Here are a few important things to keep in mind:
The time to visit Japan will be as soon as Japan reopens. Be ready to act fast. So if you fall under the four countries, it will be best you work towards visiting Japan.
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