Mar 5, 2020, 5:17 pm
Last edit by: CPH-Flyer
This thread is for discussion of the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to Japan. Non-Japan-related discussion should be taken either to the most relevant forum, the Coronavirus and Travel forum, or the OMNI forums.
UPDATE FOR TOURISTS LOOKING TO VISIT JAPAN AFTER COVID-19 BORDER RESTRICTIONS EASE
Japan does currently not allow entry for general tourism purposes. Most visa waivers are suspended, and travel to Japan for non resident foreigners generally require a visa. And quarantine as described for the countries and territories below.
UPDATE FOR PEOPLE WITH VISAS THAT ALLOW ENTRY INTO JAPAN
The quarantine requirements mentioned below will generally apply to entrants in Japan. As the conditions of who can obtain a visa for entry on exceptional circumstances are not clearly listed anywhere, it is necessary to confirm entry requirements with your local Japanese diplomatic representatives
Spouses and children of foreign permanent residents or Japanese nationals, can obtain visas for short term stays (up to 90 days) by applying in person or by mail at an overseas Japanese consulate. Required documentation includes application form, letter with reason for purpose of visit, bank statement and Koseki Tohon. Processing times have been reported as on the spot to up to one week.
From March 1st, business travelers, students and technical trainees can again enter Japan. There is a need to have a receiving organisation to apply for the visa. For business travelers, there will be one point of contact with the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare. Though the full details are not published yet (as of typing on the 27th of February, please add them if you have seen them)
Business travelers must have a Japanese company or organization apply for a Certificate for Completion of Registration to the MHLW ERFS system. This is a two step process. The company must first register and then apply for the Certificate for the traveler. These can both be done online and completed in less than an hour.The website for doing this is https://entry.hco.mhlw.go.jp/.
After getting the certificate the traveler must apply for visa at the Japanese Consulate or Embassy with jurisdiction for where they reside. (They are quite strict about this. E.g. you can't apply while traveling in a foreign country.) The information on the Consulate pages state that you need Letter of Guarantee, Invitation Letter, etc when applying for the visa. In fact, however, if you have the EFRS certificate, all you need is the visa application, your passport and a photo. The Consulate will issue the visa within 5 days.
UPDATE JAPANESE CITIZENS AND RETURNING FOREIGN JAPAN RESIDENTS
All people travelling to Japan has to present a negative PCR test taking no earlier than. 72 hours before departure to be able to board the flight. The certificate has to meet the information requirements and test types from the Japanese government.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000799426.pdf
From the 7th of June, passport number, nationality, signature and stamp from the doctor/medical institution are no longer required.
The requirement for pre-departure test will be removed for passengers on flights landing after the 7th of September 00:00 provided that they have received a full bases vaccination and a booster vaccination. Accepted vaccines are Moderna, Pfizer, Astra, Zeneca, J&J, Novavax, Covaxin.
Uploading documents in advance via the mysos app or via the mysos website is required. For details please see https://www.hco.mhlw.go.jp/en/
The arrival process is as follows. Countries will be grouped in red, yellow, and blue.
Red countries:
Albania, Sierra Leone
Yellow countries:
Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cook Island, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Macau, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Congo, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Vanuatu, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Solomon, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Blue countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentine, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’lvoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Western Sahara, Zambia
For updates to the lists of countries and territories and changes to the rules check the website of the ministry of foreign affairs https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html and ask in the thread for clarifications and experiences of entering Japan.
UPDATE FOR TOURISTS LOOKING TO VISIT JAPAN AFTER COVID-19 BORDER RESTRICTIONS EASE
Japan does currently not allow entry for general tourism purposes. Most visa waivers are suspended, and travel to Japan for non resident foreigners generally require a visa. And quarantine as described for the countries and territories below.
UPDATE FOR PEOPLE WITH VISAS THAT ALLOW ENTRY INTO JAPAN
The quarantine requirements mentioned below will generally apply to entrants in Japan. As the conditions of who can obtain a visa for entry on exceptional circumstances are not clearly listed anywhere, it is necessary to confirm entry requirements with your local Japanese diplomatic representatives
Spouses and children of foreign permanent residents or Japanese nationals, can obtain visas for short term stays (up to 90 days) by applying in person or by mail at an overseas Japanese consulate. Required documentation includes application form, letter with reason for purpose of visit, bank statement and Koseki Tohon. Processing times have been reported as on the spot to up to one week.
From March 1st, business travelers, students and technical trainees can again enter Japan. There is a need to have a receiving organisation to apply for the visa. For business travelers, there will be one point of contact with the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare. Though the full details are not published yet (as of typing on the 27th of February, please add them if you have seen them)
Business travelers must have a Japanese company or organization apply for a Certificate for Completion of Registration to the MHLW ERFS system. This is a two step process. The company must first register and then apply for the Certificate for the traveler. These can both be done online and completed in less than an hour.The website for doing this is https://entry.hco.mhlw.go.jp/.
After getting the certificate the traveler must apply for visa at the Japanese Consulate or Embassy with jurisdiction for where they reside. (They are quite strict about this. E.g. you can't apply while traveling in a foreign country.) The information on the Consulate pages state that you need Letter of Guarantee, Invitation Letter, etc when applying for the visa. In fact, however, if you have the EFRS certificate, all you need is the visa application, your passport and a photo. The Consulate will issue the visa within 5 days.
UPDATE JAPANESE CITIZENS AND RETURNING FOREIGN JAPAN RESIDENTS
All people travelling to Japan has to present a negative PCR test taking no earlier than. 72 hours before departure to be able to board the flight. The certificate has to meet the information requirements and test types from the Japanese government.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000799426.pdf
From the 7th of June, passport number, nationality, signature and stamp from the doctor/medical institution are no longer required.
The requirement for pre-departure test will be removed for passengers on flights landing after the 7th of September 00:00 provided that they have received a full bases vaccination and a booster vaccination. Accepted vaccines are Moderna, Pfizer, Astra, Zeneca, J&J, Novavax, Covaxin.
Uploading documents in advance via the mysos app or via the mysos website is required. For details please see https://www.hco.mhlw.go.jp/en/
The arrival process is as follows. Countries will be grouped in red, yellow, and blue.
- Group “Red”：On-arrival test is required. 3-day quarantine at a government-designated facility is required, however, those who obtain a valid vaccination certificate may have 5-day home quarantine (or 3-day home quarantine + negative result of a voluntary test) instead.
- Group “Yellow”：On-arrival test and 5-day home quarantine (or 3-day home quarantine + negative result of a voluntary test) are required, however, those who obtain a valid vaccination certificate are not required to have on-arrival test, home quarantine and other measures.
- Group “Blue”：Regardless of the vaccination status of the entrants/returnees, on-arrival test, home quarantine and other measures are not required.
Red countries:
Albania, Sierra Leone
Yellow countries:
Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cook Island, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Macau, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Congo, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Vanuatu, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Solomon, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Blue countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentine, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d’lvoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Western Sahara, Zambia
For updates to the lists of countries and territories and changes to the rules check the website of the ministry of foreign affairs https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html and ask in the thread for clarifications and experiences of entering Japan.
Coronavirus impact in Japan [consolidated]
Apr 30, 2020, 5:35 pm
#1756
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,341
Dr.Yokokura is someone who gets mentioned often by NHK, et al. But I'm noticing that foreign media flock to Dr.Shibuya and Dr.Iwata, the two English-speaking Japanese doctors who've been predictably critical of Jpn. I don't disagree with them. But I'm not a journalist nor am I paid to offer fair and balanced reporting. So I'm not enamored with seeing foreign media still continuing to regurgitate the same line from the same few people, especially when it's becoming more and more apparent each day that Jpn is going to make it out of this without facing anything close to UK type of disaster.
Still disagree on testing. I think it's mostly a media frenzy, and the numbers in Japan (and other parts of Asia) strongly suggest that it does not have a significant impact on overall transmission.
Apr 30, 2020, 5:35 pm
#1757
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Hilton, Hyatt House, Del Taco
Posts: 5,378
Was looking at photos of my plates from Conrad breakfast buffet. When do I get to have that again?
Apr 30, 2020, 5:43 pm
#1758
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Hilton, Hyatt House, Del Taco
Posts: 5,378
Agree. Foreign media reporting is mostly garbage. The story they should be reporting is how the heck Japan has had so few deaths (2/3rds of Korea on a per capita basis) in spite of the fact that Japan has a substantially older population, and in spite of the fact that Japan has done very little testing, and in spite of the fact that government recommendations for social distancing were very minimal and have been very late.
Apr 30, 2020, 6:00 pm
#1759
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
I do wonder if Abe Virtually No Mask (seriously, that thing he wears is barely up to the task...) actually listens to the "experts" he cloaks his decisions in, or if they are just an elaborate front to give his impulses clout.
Apr 30, 2020, 6:02 pm
#1760
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
I can certainly count on them to break the news when a dog or cat tests positive.
I do wonder if Abe Virtually No Mask (seriously, that thing he wears is barely up to the task...) actually listens to the "experts" he cloaks his decisions in, or if they are just an elaborate front to give his impulses clout.
I do wonder if Abe Virtually No Mask (seriously, that thing he wears is barely up to the task...) actually listens to the "experts" he cloaks his decisions in, or if they are just an elaborate front to give his impulses clout.
I guess it's a case of "eat your own dogfood"...
Apr 30, 2020, 6:15 pm
#1761
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Hilton, Hyatt House, Del Taco
Posts: 5,378
Apr 30, 2020, 8:16 pm
#1762
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
As the national emergency declaration will almost certainly be extended through May, I'm thinking that this isn't happening for you.
Apr 30, 2020, 9:50 pm
#1763
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
Programs: Tokyo Monorail Diamond-Encrusted-Platinum
Posts: 9,632
The Economist analysis of excess mortality shows that there are vastly different levels of reporting from country to country.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-de...ross-countries
A comparison of Netherlands (280 deaths per million population) and neighboring Belgium (655 deaths per million population) is illustrative. Belgium appears to be reporting 93% of its excess deaths during this pandemic as COVID-related, whereas Netherlands is only reporting 48% of its excess deaths as COVID-related. It turns out that most of the difference is down to accounting policies:
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...covid-19-cases
May 1, 2020, 12:35 am
#1764
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
I'm happy to report that today's print of 165 cases in Tokyo does not shake the faith of the Religion of the Seven Day Moving Average!
This is the highest number since April 18th.
This is the highest number since April 18th.
Last edited by hailstorm; May 1, 2020 at 12:51 am
May 1, 2020, 1:36 am
#1765
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
Programs: Tokyo Monorail Diamond-Encrusted-Platinum
Posts: 9,632
I'm glad that Tokyo doesn't provide hourly updates. The midday update might shake your faith in the daily average.
May 1, 2020, 3:49 am
#1766
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I must apologize for the misinformation here. After re-checking my calculation, the seven day moving average actually did tick up slightly based on today's result.
May 1, 2020, 4:21 am
#1767
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
Yes but no problem! We're about to hit the weekend AND Golden Week, so the testing centres will close and we'll be at single digits by the end of next week without a doubt.
May 1, 2020, 5:07 am
#1768
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,341
May 1, 2020, 10:12 pm
#1769
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
I got an emergency text from the governor of Kanagawa (first emergency text I've received since last year's typhoons), telling everyone not in Kanagawa to not come to Kanawaga during Golden Week, and everyone in Kanagawa not to leave.
The mayor of my town also spoke on the emergency loudspeakers at around 10:30am. "To residents, thank you for your cooperation. To those here on leisure or out to exercise, please go home. To those going out to shop for essentials, please be careful."
Yeah, you know me.
The mayor of my town also spoke on the emergency loudspeakers at around 10:30am. "To residents, thank you for your cooperation. To those here on leisure or out to exercise, please go home. To those going out to shop for essentials, please be careful."
Yeah, you know me.
May 1, 2020, 10:35 pm
#1770
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
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Posts: 100,413
Could easily be down to the difference between actual and reported COVID deaths.
The Economist analysis of excess mortality shows that there are vastly different levels of reporting from country to country.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-de...ross-countries
A comparison of Netherlands (280 deaths per million population) and neighboring Belgium (655 deaths per million population) is illustrative. Belgium appears to be reporting 93% of its excess deaths during this pandemic as COVID-related, whereas Netherlands is only reporting 48% of its excess deaths as COVID-related. It turns out that most of the difference is down to accounting policies:
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...covid-19-cases
The Economist analysis of excess mortality shows that there are vastly different levels of reporting from country to country.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-de...ross-countries
A comparison of Netherlands (280 deaths per million population) and neighboring Belgium (655 deaths per million population) is illustrative. Belgium appears to be reporting 93% of its excess deaths during this pandemic as COVID-related, whereas Netherlands is only reporting 48% of its excess deaths as COVID-related. It turns out that most of the difference is down to accounting policies:
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...covid-19-cases
For Japan, I suspect that part of the reason for the inexplicable relative success is the culture of wearing masks, not shaking hands/hugging/kissing, etc., despite the high population density in major cities, packed subways, culture of face time and not working from home, and aging population. Yet as I write this, all of the other factors would seem to logically be more important than the avoidance of very close of contact (masks and bows instead of handshakes), so it's hard to explain some of the differences (not just Japan) across countries.