Pickles

Damn you 10 ways till Yom Tov.

Q Shoe Guy

It was good and all , sadly Tokyo X was off the menu. Just starting to see the Covid fallout in that neighbourhood, quite a few empty shops (mostly bubble tea and clothing stores).

Pickles

Interesting. However, I can imagine the Japanese propensity to not care about profits means that we'll see another round of little shops selling all kinds of random, pointless stuff pop up at some point, which in some way is what makes Japan Japan. As opposed to the US approach to leave storefronts empty for years, impact on the neighborhood be damned.

CPH-Flyer

Just arrived back in Narita T2. Overall fairly painless experience for getting back in to Japan.

Passengers lined up, then walked to the first waiting area. Once they had processed the flight ahead of us, we were taken in order to the first document check, and the saliva test.

When you had handed over your sample, the next step was in the satellite building. Full document check, and then just waiting for the result of the test. Took about 30 minutes from I sat down, until the test was done.

Then a walk back to immigration, this was the first time anyone wanted to see my pre departure Covid-19 test. As I had the test made at the airport clinic at Copenhagen Airport, they had all the information on their standard form, so to test the reaction I used this rather than the template supplied by the Japanese government. No reaction at all. So as long as you sre sure the information required on the Japanese form is there, no problem. (in case of issues, I had the Japan government form signed by the clinic as well as my back up, but will not do that in the future if the clinic has a proper form)

All in all, it took about 2 hours from landing until I exited at customs. There is zero check about what you do in terms of transport when you exit, but they will ask and put the answeron the forms you submit.

nishimark

Thanks for the update. Glad it went well. What about quarantine? Did you sign a form saying you would? What are the stated restrictions? For example, if you have a family in Japan but are the only one returning from a foreign country, are you allowed to quarantine with your family or do they ask you to find a separate place for two weeks?

CPH-Flyer

I wrote clearly that I was quarantining at home, but was not asked if I was living alone or had other members in my household; I did not see any restrictions on quarantining with family oir people living at the same address.

I rejected being contacted via Line, just asked them to call me on my mobile.

You sign a document at immigration, the others are just questionnaires. The basic requirements are to not take public transport during the 14 day period, stay at home and avoid contact with other people. The Japanese term is なるべく, so not a complete ban on contacts.

ainternational

I did the same re LINE. This time and last time. The local city office near my home called me several days after arrival after my previous trip but not yet this time and it’s been almost two weeks. Guessing they may have stopped the calls given the higher number of pax.

CPH, did you show the Japanese template form or was that “hidden backup”? Was the airport test result form “stamped” with some official looking non Japanese stamp, embossed, signed or none of the above? Just curious. However, I share your opinion that they seem to deprioritize caring about those pre departure results - not that they won’t check of course.

I of course also signed the quarantine form and was also not asked about family or staff (e.g. maid or babysitter or nanny which would apply to some folks). Further, I was told that I could, if absolutely necessary and required by my company, go to work but I should never use public transportation and should avoid standard office hours if I had to go. The quarantine overview seemed much less stringent than when I entered in June.

Finally, welcome home CPH-Flyer!

CPH-Flyer

I had the airport clinic complete the Japanese template form. But it was a hidden back up, I did not show it at any point. The one from the airport clinic was embossed, stamped and signed. Since I had both, I decided to take one for the team and test the need to have the Japanese template form.

Thank you, good to be back home.

evergrn

This is confusing. If you're a child of Japanese national, are you eligible to be admitted into Jpn? Or do you have to be a Jpn national's child who also resides there?

Q Shoe Guy

An explanation of the new rules and how they apply to non-resident foreign nationals wanting to enter Japan.


Visa eligibility under the eased border control policy

All foreign nationals who are set to relocate to Japan for purposes other than sightseeing, for instance to work or study, as well as people without Japanese passports who are planning to join their families here under dependent visas, can seek entry clearance from October.

In general, no preconditions such as urgent humanitarian reasons are required to seek entry permission. However, programs under which applicants can seek entry will differ depending on the nature of the pandemic in the traveler’s country of residence.

Travelers from among the 159 countries and regions covered by the entry restrictions with higher numbers of infections will be required to meet stricter conditions, and there is a lower cap on the number of new entries from these nations allowed in per day.

Such limitations will not cover new entries from some of the 159 countries and regions if the pandemic is considered to be relatively under control there and they are part of a reciprocal cross-border travel program with Japan. This applies to Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Seiji Matano, deputy director of the Immigration Department at the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) told a news conference at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday that the number of permitted entries will be determined in accordance with testing capacity at international airports, which now stands at 10,000 per day and also covers Japanese nationals returning from abroad, and such adjustments will be made during the screening process.

Currently travelers arriving for a short-term stay in Japan are not allowed to travel in principle. But short-term business travelers can seek entry under reciprocal business travel programs.

Meanwhile, foreign nationals with legal residence status in Japan can travel in and out of Japan under a separate set of rules that came into force Sept. 1.

Revised visa application procedures

All new visa applicants will be required to submit an application to local immigration authorities such as their nearest Japanese Embassy or consular office under the jurisdiction of the Justice Ministry. But foreign nationals whose countries are covered by the travel restrictions will need to submit additional documentation.

In some cases, applicants can use a program based on the reciprocal travel program originally introduced for business travelers, or they can seek entry under stricter procedures. People from those countries covered by the business travel program who are seeking permission to relocate to Japan to work or study can apply for visas using the so-called residence track.

The business program for long-term and short-term travelers was introduced when a limited number of new entries was allowed, but from now on it will also cover all visa categories including student visas and cultural activities visas for people relocating to Japan.

The government has also been in talks with Australia, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, New Zealand and South Korea over resuming business travel under similar conditions and plans to add these countries to the cross-border travel program.

Foreign nationals from other countries covered by the entry restrictions will need to provide written assurance from their company or sponsor that quarantine measures will be followed upon entering Japan, which will be the main requirement for the screening process. The travelers will need to submit a printed copy of the document when applying for entry permission.

“We’re aware that some applicants may struggle with acquiring the written pledge” from their sponsors, Matano told the Japan Times earlier this week.

Additional documentation may vary depending on the country of the traveler’s residence.

Conditions for permission to enter Japan

According to the ISA, which oversees visa proceedings, foreign nationals will be required to monitor their health for 14 days prior to their departure for Japan and will need to submit proof they tested negative within 72 hours prior to their trip in accordance with government guidelines.

Documents confirming the test need to be filled out entirely in English and need to be signed by a doctor from the medical institution where the test was conducted or have the institution’s stamp. Officials suggest using the certification form for COVID-19 tests that can be found on the Justice Ministry’s website.

Only negative results for molecular diagnostic tests conducted via nasopharyngeal swab or saliva samples using the real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method, the so-called LAMP method or an antigen test using the CLEIA method will be recognized as valid.

Only foreign nationals coming from the around 35 countries that are not covered by the entry restrictions, such as Mali, do not need to submit pre-entry test results.

Before arrival, travelers will also be asked to fill out a detailed health questionnaire and report where they will be self-isolating after arriving in Japan.

Requirements imposed on foreign nationals entering Japan upon arrival

According to the government bodies overseeing immigration proceedings, new visa applicants will need to agree to be tested upon arrival as well as observe a 14-day period of self-isolation at designated locations such as a hotel, company housing, a short-term rental apartment or private accommodation.

According to the ISA, there are no specific requirements for the type of accommodation for self-isolation but such arrangements should be made prior to traveling. Also, travelers cannot use public transportation during the 14-day period, including when leaving the airport.

Only short-term business travelers under the reciprocal agreements are given permission to commute between their workplace and their accommodation during the 14-day period.

The travelers will be required to report their health condition to the health ministry throughout the self-isolation period through their sponsor or employer, or on their own through a smartphone app. They will also be required to use the government-sponsored COVID-19 contact tracing application and save location data using a designated app throughout the 14-day period.

CPH-Flyer

I can't help but wonder if the contact tracing app and the location tracking app eventually will be come mandatory for residents returning as well.

At least the cases identified at airport testing have not increased since the Sep 1st opening, so that can't be used as an excuse to tighten the rules.

hailstorm

How can you do that without making the owning of a smart phone mandatory as well? Will the government provide one for those with a garakei?

ainternational

Yeah, and what about my Kyocera monochrome screen flip phone with an antenna and WAP browser!

hailstorm

No smart phone will ever be able to replicate the satisfying sound and feeling of snapping shut a garakei flip phone!

Q Shoe Guy

https://www.tracetogether.gov.sg

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN24Z0D9


There is always the Singapore dongle or electronic tag......