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]
Aug 15, 2022, 10:04 pm
#9736
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: Kanto
Posts: 151
...so they just took him back to the scene of the accident, dropped him off, and said goodnight!
The next morning his dad had to call the ambulance again since the guy was in so much pain, and they found a different hospital that would actually accept him, where he turned out to have a fractured leg.
Injured motorcyclist returned to accident scene after hospital refuses to take him due to positive COVID test
https://japantoday.com/category/nati...ive-covid-test
Aug 15, 2022, 10:13 pm
#9737
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: TYO
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,744
Here's a new one from yesterday of a 21-year old who got in a motorcycle accident in the middle of the night, but was refused entry to the hospital since the ambulance gave him an antigen test (positive result) and the hospital said no because he had Covid.
...so they just took him back to the scene of the accident, dropped him off, and said goodnight!
The next morning his dad had to call the ambulance again since the guy was in so much pain, and they found a different hospital that would actually accept him, where he turned out to have a fractured leg.
Injured motorcyclist returned to accident scene after hospital refuses to take him due to positive COVID test
https://japantoday.com/category/nati...ive-covid-test
...so they just took him back to the scene of the accident, dropped him off, and said goodnight!
The next morning his dad had to call the ambulance again since the guy was in so much pain, and they found a different hospital that would actually accept him, where he turned out to have a fractured leg.
Injured motorcyclist returned to accident scene after hospital refuses to take him due to positive COVID test
https://japantoday.com/category/nati...ive-covid-test
What exactly screams foul about this to you? Maybe they should have given him a bed instead so the next 90 year old woman who needs one can die at home while his neck pain improves.
Aug 15, 2022, 10:32 pm
#9738
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,434
It certainly would reduce some strain if everyone could diagnose themselves...
Aug 15, 2022, 10:51 pm
#9739
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: TYO
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,744
Of course none of this comes as a surprise since by all accounts Japan is the only modern country dealing with lack of hospital beds two and a half years into the pandemic.
Aug 16, 2022, 12:05 am
#9740
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,160
Here's a new one from yesterday of a 21-year old who got in a motorcycle accident in the middle of the night, but was refused entry to the hospital since the ambulance gave him an antigen test (positive result) and the hospital said no because he had Covid.
...so they just took him back to the scene of the accident, dropped him off, and said goodnight!
The next morning his dad had to call the ambulance again since the guy was in so much pain, and they found a different hospital that would actually accept him, where he turned out to have a fractured leg.
Injured motorcyclist returned to accident scene after hospital refuses to take him due to positive COVID test
https://japantoday.com/category/nati...ive-covid-test
...so they just took him back to the scene of the accident, dropped him off, and said goodnight!
The next morning his dad had to call the ambulance again since the guy was in so much pain, and they found a different hospital that would actually accept him, where he turned out to have a fractured leg.
Injured motorcyclist returned to accident scene after hospital refuses to take him due to positive COVID test
https://japantoday.com/category/nati...ive-covid-test
(this one was posted a bit upthread, unless it happened twice in short order)
Aug 16, 2022, 12:54 am
#9741
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 273
As we’ve booked 3 weeks off at the end Of October/start of November , we need to make a “decision” soon . Plan A of travelling round Japan is looking dead as if by some miracle, restrictions are eased before then, it’ll require a huge amount of complicated paperwork and bureaucracy so relatively short notice trips will not be possible and as booking hotels, rail passes, hire cars etc. all takes time, I think I’ll give it another week then give up and book flights to South Korea instead. Travel this year for us seems extremely unlikely and more so by the day.
Aug 16, 2022, 1:18 am
#9742
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 1,576
As we’ve booked 3 weeks off at the end Of October/start of November , we need to make a “decision” soon . Plan A of travelling round Japan is looking dead as if by some miracle, restrictions are eased before then, it’ll require a huge amount of complicated paperwork and bureaucracy so relatively short notice trips will not be possible and as booking hotels, rail passes, hire cars etc. all takes time, I think I’ll give it another week then give up and book flights to South Korea instead. Travel this year for us seems extremely unlikely and more so by the day.
Aug 16, 2022, 1:47 am
#9743
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 273
TBH I'm not that concerned about insane crowds as numbers will no matter what, be a fraction of pre-covid numbers due to the lack of Chinese and Taiwanese tourist and as a big chunk of our planned trip is in Tohoku and Shikoku, tourist numbers should be fine. Having seen the list of paperwork required for family of residents to visit, I can imagine any opening up will require a VISA, application, providing detailed itineraries, bank statements and god knows what else, taking who knows how long to be accepted as they could easily not be prepared to handle that surge. Also, I'd have to to either a)book flights with the risk of having to cancel or b) booking flights last-minute and pay through the nose.
Aug 16, 2022, 1:52 am
#9744
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 1,576
TBH I'm not that concerned about insane crowds as numbers will no matter what, be a fraction of pre-covid numbers due to the lack of Chinese and Taiwanese tourist and as a big chunk of our planned trip is in Tohoku and Shikoku, tourist numbers should be fine. Having seen the list of paperwork required for family of residents to visit, I can imagine any opening up will require a VISA, application, providing detailed itineraries, bank statements and god knows what else, taking who knows how long to be accepted as they could easily not be prepared to handle that surge. Also, I'd have to to either a)book flights with the risk of having to cancel or b) booking flights last-minute and pay through the nose.
Aug 16, 2022, 1:58 am
#9745
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 273
for sure - sorry I wasn’t very clear. Didn’t mean crowds compared to precovid but more in the sense of staffing at various choke points (airports, processing, rentals, etc) not being sufficient relative to the rush. Though I could be wrong and Japan could adjust more quickly in these areas than I experienced in the states and Europe last month.
You don't appreciate people and treat them as disposable numbers, then look what happens.
Sorry for the rant!
Aug 16, 2022, 2:00 am
#9746
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Tokyo
Posts: 1,576
Yes, could be the case although in Europe at least, the problem *mostly* seems to be due to the travel, tourism and hospitality industries laying off huge numbers of people then being caught short as unsurprisingly people who have since found other positions are in no rush to run back to jobs that often have anti-social hours, are not highly paid and clearly have no security whatsoever. " I can't wait to run back to an employer who'll drop me the minute there's another pandemic" says no-one.
You don't appreciate people and treat them as disposable numbers, then look what happens.
Sorry for the rant!
You don't appreciate people and treat them as disposable numbers, then look what happens.
Sorry for the rant!
Aug 16, 2022, 4:48 am
#9747
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 887
Saw a link to this Twitter account on another site.
Seems to suggest a rumour on TV of mid Sept / October re-opening if cases continue to fall.
Seems to suggest a rumour on TV of mid Sept / October re-opening if cases continue to fall.
Aug 16, 2022, 6:41 am
#9748
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 273
Saw a link to this Twitter account on another site.
https://twitter.com/nyukoku_news/sta...ik8FXyWidqEevQ
Seems to suggest a rumour on TV of mid Sept / October re-opening if cases continue to fall.
https://twitter.com/nyukoku_news/sta...ik8FXyWidqEevQ
Seems to suggest a rumour on TV of mid Sept / October re-opening if cases continue to fall.
Last edited by armagebedar; Aug 18, 2022 at 6:40 pm Reason: Violation of FT rule 16
Aug 16, 2022, 6:45 am
#9749
Join Date: Jul 2022
Location: Kanto area, Japan
Programs: QAPC Gold, BAEC
Posts: 27
Was there anything behind this rumour or was it just idle speculation of what the travel analyst wants to happen?
Also pardon me for being pessimistic (although it's hard to be anything else these days when it comes to Japan's attitude to COVID), but 外国人観光客の受け入れの更なる緩和 could mean literally anything.Think I'll keep my expectations firmly in check until an official announcement is made.
Also pardon me for being pessimistic (although it's hard to be anything else these days when it comes to Japan's attitude to COVID), but 外国人観光客の受け入れの更なる緩和 could mean literally anything.Think I'll keep my expectations firmly in check until an official announcement is made.
Aug 16, 2022, 8:20 am
#9750
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM MM SC; GE; Bonvoy Titanium; IHG Diamond
Posts: 2,310
DL has been flying to HND since the pandemic started. My original flights were JFK-DTW-HND in September 2020 and I have rebooked four times to preserve my mileage upgrade to D1. There have been multiple changes as they kept reducing their schedule but the many flights I cancelled almost always ended up operating, although of course I couldn't travel because the country is still not open.