Originally Posted by
dvs7310
It's actually on the table with the EU sometime in August and I'm going to laugh my a## off if this stubborn government actually allows it to happen. Apparently the EU has a reciprocity rule on visa free entry with a 2 year compliance deadline. From what I've heard this kicks in in August or September because Germany filed the objection in one of those months in 2020. From what I understand if that kicks in then Japanese passport holders will have to get visas for a minimum of 12 months while this government either decides to comply or lives with a visa policy.
We need a few more shocks in the system to get the local population into an uproar about the current policies. The (current) voters aren't the ones who travel overseas, so maybe it's the tipping point we really need to instigate change. It started after Golden Week when a lot of people actually did travel overseas and were subjected to the absurd arrivals process we had until May 31st, hence the sudden removal of arrival tests this week. Need to make more Japanese citizens feel some pain to get things pushed faster.
Korea apparently is still requiring visas for Japanese citizens. There was a run on the embassy in Tokyo this past week when visa issuance opened up, while the rest of the world has been able to travel to Korea fairly freely for the past month. That's a tit for tat move that I applaud them for. If / when the other countries in the region start doing the same thing then there will be an immense amount of pressure to open sooner than later. The people who used to travel abroad during holidays are definitely tired of being couped up here.
The European commission in their May 17th statement seems less on the war path than all that....
Although the entry ban for non-tourist purposes for travellers coming from 24 EU Member States has been lifted, for tourist purposes it is still not permitted. The Commission considers that progress can be better achieved through continued engagement and diplomatic contacts and that at this stage it would not be appropriate to adopt suspension measures for any categories of nationals of Japan. In particular, it will step up its diplomatic engagement with Japanese authorities, at technical and political level, in order to restore full visa-waiver reciprocity ahead of travel normalisation as well as the lifting of the entry ban for non-tourist purposes for travellers coming from all EU Member States.
Furthermore, during the 28 EU-Japan Summit on 12 May, both sides have also reiterated their will to work to restore visa-waiver reciprocity. The Commission will continue to actively monitor the situation and will take appropriate action depending on the results of the consultations now taking place and on other developments.