Is Japan Open to Tourists?
Is Japan open for international individual travelers? Are borders open as normal in 2024? What are testing, face mask, and vaccine requirements for visitors? These are questions among those planning trips to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and this covers the answers.
The good news is that we now have an answer to questions we’ve been asking for nearly two years! First, after reopening to guided tour groups, Japan reopened to individual tourists on October 11, 2022. In the year-plus since, additional changes have occurred to the extent that it’s basically business as usual for visiting Japan in 2024.
We’ve already returned to Japan, spending about a month in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere. In various updates here, we’ve been sharing our experiences and what it’s like as a foreign visitor, what has changed, crowd conditions, expenses of visiting Japan with the weaker yen, and much more. The big one for most of you is likely going to be Japan Face Mask Rules v. Reality in 2024.
Those two posts cover essentially everything you need to know about visiting Japan as of 2024. The short version is that it is possible to enter, regardless of whether you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated, albeit with a testing requirement for the latter. There are no quarantine requirements, and travel is visa-free for the vast majority of people reading this.
Please subscribe to our FREE email newsletter and stay tuned if you are curious about how things are on-the-ground for tourists in Japan post-reopening.
In terms of the latest news, the current vaccine and testing policies ended on May 8, 2023. This is because Japan has formally decided to downgrade the legal status of the novel coronavirus on May 8, 2023 to the same category as common infectious diseases, such as seasonal influenza, thereby easing COVID-19 prevention rules.
This is a major policy shift and will relax–if not eliminate entirely–Japan’s intensive COVID-19 countermeasures, including limiting the movements of infected people and their close contacts. Japan’s reclassification of COVID-19 to Class 5 came after a panel of experts under the health ministry agreed on the plan earlier in the day.
The downgrade would pave the way for a normalization of social and economic activities in Japan, and should mean that non-residents are able to enter the country without PCR tests or additional paperwork. Essentially, there will be no (legal) basis for the current border protocol effective May 8, 2023. Of course, things could change between now and then, but it’s likely the border will revert to late 2019 status as of that date.
We typically spend a couple of months in Japan each year, and are ecstatic to be returning after nearly 3 years away. We are eager to revisit our favorite places, see friends in Japan for the first time in over two years, and continue creating this site’s wealth of free planning resources. We’re excited about this great (but overdue) news, but also go in knowing that things will be different, in ways both good and bad.
For these two-plus years, we’ve been closely monitoring the situation in Japan, watching several hours of NHK each day and reading multiple Japanese news sources. All of this in the hope for some clarity as to when the country will fully reopen and Japan will begin allowing international tourists to enter once again.
What follows is based on that research and fixation with the on-the-ground situation in Japan. We’re preserving this for posterity, but everything that follows is now (thankfully!) obsolete information.
Japan is now allowing foreign nationals to enter Japan for purposes other than tourism so long as they have a sponsor in the country. This includes business travelers on short stays, students in study abroad programs, participants in technical internships, both guided & unguided tour groups, spouses or children (and other relatives) of a Japanese national/permanent resident, others with special exceptional circumstances, and those who would provide a “public benefit” to Japan.
With that in mind, let’s cover how we got here, why Japan maintains the strictest among the Group of Seven developed nations, and what could cause that to change…
Again and again, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that Japan “will continue to consider how the measures should be by taking into account the infection situations at home and abroad, border control measures taken by other nations, and progress in the rollout of vaccine boosters.”
Kishida has also acknowledged that Japan’s border control measures are the strictest among Group of Seven nations, and expressed a desire/need to bring Japan in line with its counterparts. “This is the first step in our gradual easing of the [border] restrictions,” Kishida has said.
As for why Japan’s border is still closed over a year after most democracies reopened, that can largely be explained by the country’s apprehensiveness of outsiders.
For better or worse, Japan is an insular and culturally conservative country–a characteristic that is often valued by visitors. Not so much in the last couple of years, as this has been reflected in policy-making. Japan has vilified and scapegoated foreigners and had an overly aggressive approach to its borders.
Due to this and other policies, Japan has lagged behind economically, seeing slower recovery than the United States and other counterparts that have more aggressively reopened. Economic benefits of international tourists is one big reason why Japan is expected to reopen its border.
Boosting tourism was core to the late former Prime Minister Abe’s economic revitalization, and both subsequent prime ministers have indicated their intentions to maintain continuity with those plans. However, the number of foreign visitors to Japan dropped to 245,900 last year, the lowest since 1964, as the country enforced tighter border controls. Compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, it dropped 99.2 percent. That’s the sharpest fall on record according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
Economists fear a “double dip” recession in Japan due to the prolonged closures and restrictions. Decreased tourism plus falling exports, an increased consumption tax, reduced consumer spending, weak yen, and growing national debt. Japan’s economy has serious issues and inbound tourism was previously a bright spot.
In other words, reopening to international visitors will be important to the health of Japan’s consumption-driven economy at some point in the not too distant future. This becomes increasingly true as the yen weakens due to the Bank of Japan continuing to pursue its loose monetary policy while the United States Federal Reserve, European, and other central banks raise interest rates. Quite simply, Japan is inflicting pain on itself by remaining closed.
There are also signs that stringent travel measures, including the border closure, are having a greater impact on Japan’s economy than previously believed. This is despite Japan’s “Go to Travel” campaign that subsidized domestic travel, which was offered at various times during the last two years.
According to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, stays at hotels and other accommodation facilities hit another record low in Japan last year–breaking the previous record set in 2020. The total of guests at hotels and inns was 315.75 million, down 4.8% from 2020 and 47% from 2019. (This number includes hotels used as government quarantine facilities, not just leisure stays.)
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party recognizes these problems and realizes it needs to rebuild Japan’s economy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that his top priority was formulating new economic measures and implementing these goals. The government will also take measures to stimulate and jump-start the economy.
Despite the aforementioned numbers, Japan is maintaining its goal of attracting 60 million foreign visitors by 2030. Additionally, the Japan National Tourism Organization has set 2024 as its goal for recovering to 2019 international travel levels. Both of these statements are reassuring given the current border closures, and indicate that Japan will unwind its travel ban in months, not years.
Against that economic backdrop, let’s take a look at the latest changes to Japan’s reopening plans…
We have more good news! Multiple media outlets, including NHK, Kyodo, Nikkei, and Fuji TV are all reporting that Japan’s government is planning to further relax restrictions and border measures with an eye to implementing the revisions by the start of October.
The specifics are not consistent among outlets, so let’s start with where they’re in agreeance.
First, there is consensus that the daily arrival cap, which is currently set at 50,000, will be eliminated entirely.
This is a necessary prerequisite for further reopening and the resumption of more inbound international flights, but this alone was not an obstacle dissuading most international visitors. While the daily number of arrivals was higher pre-closure, we assumed that 50,000 is the level at which this cap becomes immaterial with China still sidelined. Regardless, it’s good to have this removed as it eliminates an element of uncertainty and could have been an issue during peak travel times for the Japanese.
Another possibility is that Japan will allow individual foreign tourists to enter the country and exempt them from visas if they have been vaccinated three times or submit a pre-arrival test result.
This is where there is disagreement among the major outlets. Kyodo, Nikkei, and NHK are reporting that this is to be determined, with government officials still deciding whether to proceed with this plan or start with lifting the daily arrival cap. By contrast, Fuji TV is treating this as a done deal, using less ambiguous language.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly plans to make a decision as early as the end of this week, according to the news outlets’ sources.
These “leaks” came after Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara spoke on Fuji TV over the weekend and stated that Japan will consider easing all three restrictions–the daily arrival cap, ban on individual tourists, and visa requirements. “We will review all three restrictions together. We have to carry it out in the not-so-distant future,” he said.
“Japan has seasonal attractions in fall and winter. We know there are a lot of people overseas who want to come to Japan,” Kihara added. “Amid the weakening yen, inbound travelers will have greatest economic effect…There are many foreign visitors who want to come visit Japan.” Kihara added that eliminating the arrival cap alone was not enough.
Kihara isn’t the only one who has been vocal about fully reopening to tourists recently. During the Bloomberg New Voices panel, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said she would open the country’s doors “tomorrow” if it were her decision. “Tourism is a big industry in Tokyo, as well as in all Japan, so this is the time to greet more foreign tourists by using this advantage of the depreciation of the yen,” she said.
Koike said that Japan’s borders would fully reopen soon. “The national border is under the management of central government,” Koike said. “As governor of Tokyo, that would be tomorrow.”
The yen has fallen to a 24-year low of ¥144 to the dollar, likely contributing to the sense of urgency in the aforementioned interviews.
Japan eased its border restrictions last week, raising the daily arrival cap from 20,000 to 50,000 and dropping the requirement for pre-arrival PCR testing for vaccinated travelers.
Japan also began allowing unguided tours, meaning ones not accompanied by tour conductors. This is specifically for “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours” and not individual tourists.
In Unguided Tours in Japan – Reopening Phase Rules, we cover what this entails and the recently-released guidelines and FAQ for these tours. Prior to those guidelines being released, we speculated on how this would work given basic logic and past precedent with prior groups who had been allowed to enter Japan. We were wrong–the unguided tours offered two steps forward but one step backwards.
We mention this in part to own past mistakes, but also as a cautionary tale. While it certainly sounds like the end is near for the Japan travel ban, it’s premature to have a high degree of confidence.
Kishida’s government has been trying to take advantage of the weak yen and accelerate growth by attracting more foreign visitors. It thus stands to reason that opening to individual tourists necessarily needs to occur–that raising the entry cap will do nothing in furtherance of their stated goal. However, as we have seen time and time again, the patently obvious conclusion often is not the outcome reached by Japan.
Moreover, how this played out with Japan’s last announcement is also instructive.
On August 23, specifics of the September relaxation measures were leaked to the same media outlets. At that time, it was unclear whether unguided tourists would be allowed to enter. On August 31, Kishida made an official announcement encompassing all of the rumored changes, including unguided tourists. (It took a few more days for the guidelines to be released, and the clarifying FAQ is still being updated.)
While presenting the above as a cautionary tale against optimism or over reliance on logic when assessing Japan’s decisions, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. (I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. Like a moth to a flame.)
First, there’s already the realization that unguided tours–like guided tours before them–will not move the needle on inbound tourism in any meaningful way. It’s another symbolic measure, and coming at a time when an increasing number of international visitors have already moved on to other destinations and pent-up demand has begun fizzling out. The number of people anxiously awaiting Japan’s reopening is shrinking, not growing.
Second, there’s awareness within the Kishida administration that the window of opportunity to reopen the border is closing. This is something we’ve pointed out in our best and worst case scenarios in prior updates, but there’s only a limited amount of time between waves.
Over two years into this, the seasonality of COVID transmission is well-established. Cases are currently in freefall and will continue decreasing next month before bottoming out sometime between late October and early November. There will be a winter resurgence. It could start as soon as late November, but is more likely in December.
Reopening to individual tourists in October presents minimal (political) risk and maximum (economic) upside. Public opinion polls show that most voters have already moved on from COVID to assorted scandals; the minority who still care will see no immediate increase in cases correlating with the border reopening.
Frankly, the miscalculation here by the Kishida administration is thinking that this will have an immediate impact on inbound travel. Those reading regular updates on Japan’s reopening are not representative of international travelers at large. Most people need months of time between booking and traveling; very few plan and take last-minute trips–especially international ones.
Obviously, the easing has to occur at some point and this lag will always play out, but the notion that this moves the needle for fall is misguided. Autumn is already a lost cause. At best, this helps with winter. More likely, the impact won’t be fully felt until next year’s cherry blossom season.
One wildcard is the downgrade of COVID’s legal status. Several recent updates have centered around Japan’s internal debate over whether to strip COVID-19 of its special status and downgrade it to the same level as the flu in Japan’s infectious disease categories.
It’s been our perspective that this was a necessary prerequisite to welcoming individual tourists as there would no longer be a need for a responsible receiving party to monitor travelers and act as a liaison for infected individuals. Given that none of the recent reports have even mentioned COVID’s status in regard to reopening, it’s possible our perspective was wrong. Or, that this barrier does still exist and Japan will have to create a “solution” for it (travel insurance?) for individual tourists. Either way, that’s something to continue keeping in mind.
Also as previously mentioned, recent poll data also shows the public is now far less concerned with COVID than the economy, Unification Church scandal, Abe’s state funeral, and other issues. It’s entirely possible that Kishida sees this polling and his sagging approval numbers and realizes that it’s time to move forward. That there’s more upside than downside risk in reopening and encouraging more economic activity.
As we’ve stressed repeatedly, Japan’s populace has been among the most cautious in the world with regard to COVID-19. Human behavior and sentiment don’t change overnight, even if it’s economically advantageous and objectively safer to do so. Statements by politicians and medical advisors, gradual border relaxation measures, and other changes could be interpreted as Japan laying the groundwork for a resumption of normalcy and the country’s eventual reopening. It now appears that the time is here–or coming very soon.
With all of this said, I’ll present my revised best, worst, and base-case scenarios for Japan’s reopening to individual tourists…
Let’s start with the best-case scenario. This assumes that Japan downgrades COVID-19 from its special status to Category 5 literally any day now or that this is not a necessary prerequisite to an individual tourist reopening. (With the possible workaround of travel insurance or some other awkward “fix.”)
Critically, this would eliminate the legal requirement of a responsible receiving party for visitors to Japan. In such a scenario, the borders could almost immediately return to their normal pre-closure status in early October. With this, the visa exemption would be reinstated, making that a non-issue. The arrivals cap would also be eliminated in this scenario.
Then there’s the middle ground or base case. This is now the same as the best-case scenario. In short, the early October reopening is not just our most optimistic view–it’s now what we expect to happen.
To differentiate the two, I’ll also allow for a middle ground possibility of a bifurcated decision with the individual tourist reopening a few weeks after the entry cap elimination. Let’s say that happens in early November.
This is would allow a bit of wiggle room for Japan’s slow and belabored decision-making process that involves a lot of “careful consideration” and “evaluating the situation.” If anything has been well-established during the last two-plus years, it’s that inaction is Japan’s baseline, and anything that does happen occurs gradually and in stages.
Finally, the worst-case scenario is that Japan instead opts to revive its “Go to Travel” campaign just in time for fall colors season, and uses that to buoy the tourism sector through December. It’s possible the country views this as sufficient for tourism businesses to stave off bankruptcy or other financial hardship for another few months.
If/when there’s another winter resurgence in cases, the reopening can would effectively be kicked down the road for a few more months. That would mean individual tourists would not be welcomed back to Japan until sometime in the first half of 2023. I’m inclined to say Spring 2023, but it’s easy to envision a worst-case that isn’t until summer.
Our view is that the worst-case scenario is now highly unlikely. Japan relaxed its border measures earlier in September while still being #1 in the world for new cases. This indicates that Japan is finally ready to move forward and sets the precedent for future changes during waves. Who knows–it still may take until early 2023 to fully downgrade the legal status of COVID. But whatever winter wave occurs (and one will happen), that’s unlikely to be an obstacle to reopening progress, as was the case last year.
With all of that in mind, we remain cautiously optimistic that individual tourists will be allowed to enter Japan sooner rather than later. The political and economic appetite for fully relaxation now clearly exists, and there’s a vocal chorus of politicians in Japan–including those who were previously in favor of closed borders–championing reopening. It’s now the popular position being advanced publicly by politicians, not just being advocated by Keidanren or Japan’s business lobby.
Japan fully reopening in full is all but inevitable at this point. It will happen soon. The end is near.
It’s thus our view that Japan reopening in some capacity to individual tourists in October is a very realistic scenario. As improbable as it might’ve seemed even a week ago, Japan welcoming back international visitors who are not part of tours (guided or unguided) sometime before November is likely. It’s pretty clear the government is focused on moving forward. As frustrating as this whole process has been, Japan is not still (completely) stuck in March 2020.
As always, Japan is cautious and conservative, with a slow and belabored decision-making process that often embodies “analysis paralysis” and usually defies logic. That’s a wild card that could further extend any timeline. However, Japan is now joining the rest of the world as people are ready to move on with life.
We’ll keep watching the news and keep you posted if/when there are further developments about Japan reopening and allowing entry to travelers from the United States, Canada, Europe, and beyond. Again, if you’d like to be notified as soon as more details are released or rumored, subscribe to our free email newsletter for ongoing updates and alerts:
If you’re planning a visit to Japan, our recommendation at this point is to target sometime in November at the earliest. In our view, koyo (autumn leaves) season is a good bet, and that takes place from mid-November through December. That’s simply a good time to visit Japan and, hopefully, the country will be open to individual tourists by then.
Speaking of which, check out our Japan Fall Colors Forecast & Autumn Foliage Viewing Guide to get started on planning your trip to visit Japan’s popular fall foliage cities, including Kyoto, Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Himeji, and Nara. That also offers tips for avoiding crowds and strategy for visiting the best temples, shrines, and evening illuminations.
If you’re planning a trip to the Japan, check out our other posts about Japan for ideas on other things to do! We also recommend consulting our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto and Ultimate Guide to Tokyo to plan.
Your Thoughts
Would you consider visiting Japan later this year, or is international travel out of the question for you anytime soon? How do you view the news about guided tours? Think those will stick around for several months, or are simply theater to shift public opinion? Think the need to adapt and live with the endemic virus will outweigh fear when it comes to Japan’s reopening plans? Any thoughts or tips of your own to add? If you’re planning your trip to Japan, what do you think about these itineraries? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
Senior LDP MP calling for end of capping overseas arrivals and abolishing test on arrival. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/10/national/japan-end-cap-overseas-visitors-senior-ldp-lawmaker-says/
Also coincidentally today ANA announced increase of flights to Europe and Hawaii from July. We are close to the end.
It was announced today that the daily cap for foreign entrants will be raised to 20,000 sometime in June, but this is still just for citizens/residents or other non-tourists who are currently allowed to enter.
There was no mention of relaxing any other restriction or about including tourists.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220511/p2g/00m/0na/027000c
Nothing has been officially decided yet, but I think regular tourism isn’t going to happen until very late summer, at the earliest. Glad the airlines are restarting up routes though, especially ANA as it means us Europeans will finally get airmail services to and from Japan back.
Andy, thought you might like this;
https://t.co/llLR4Z5HGf
Hopefully it doesn’t take too long for the general public to take on board, and by the time summer rolls around, hopefully most people won’t feel inclined to wear one outside all the time.
Yeah, I saw that today too. When I start seeing 30% or more of the public not wearing a mask outside (hopefully real soon) I shall finally remove mine too.
But until then, if my gaijin face were to start going out maskless, I’d get nothing but stern looks, maybe even a flippant oji-san yelling at me, despite what the gov says.
I am the mother of a Japanese national. My son is half Japanese through his father. He is married and lives in Tokyo with his wife and two children. I tried to google to see what documents would be necessary to get a visa. Up popped the Philippines. The requirements were really onerous even if you are a first degree relative. Would it be different for an American? Probably not, so I am in limbo and waiting.
I just checked flights from Cairns to Tokyo & Osaka. We can book flights departing from Cairns on or after the 22nd July. So nothing for June and after the Japanese general election.
Time to dust off our passports!
Looking forward to visiting Japan in Autumn (fingers crossed)
Re-booked my trip for October/Nov. Fingers crossed for the both of us! Thanks for all the updates.
I’m really hoping this to be true! I really want to see my boyfriend. We’re crossing my fingers and praying like crazy I’ll be able to see him in November.
We have family in Japan, son, wife and grandchildren and have flights booked for September. This will be the fourth time of having to rearrange flights. Like others we have not been able to visit for well over 2 years. So keeping on fingers crossed for japan grating visas soon.
The North Korean people must bind together and build up the glorious nation at breakneck speed. Long Live Democratic People’s Republic of Korea!
We have rearranged flights for later October. Fingers crossed. Thank you for the updates. Very useful and informative
We have a flight booked for late October – fingers crossed. Thank you for the updates. Very, very useful and encouraging.
Having settled into two vacations in Japan a year our last was new year 2020. We keep booking ahead six months or so and moving it on once it’s clear it’s not happening. We have done that four times now. No point in getting stressed about stuff you can’t do anything about.
Meanwhile information from this source and others is appreciated.
I would go in December if it is possible
I have family in Japan and go each year. I’ve rescheduled 5 times since 2020 just hoping one of these times it’ll be open. My next trip on the books is September. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but this is the most optimistic I’ve been in a while now.
This is so very exciting! We can’t wait to visit our son and (new) Japanese daughter in law. We live in the UK and have booked flights for the end of November………keeping everything crossed that it may be possible by then. Never been to Japan at this time of year, but soooo (hopefully) looking forward to it 🙂
Hi Gail. We’re in exactly the same situation. We’re in the UK and our son is in Japan. We too have a new Japanese daughter in law (we’ve not yet met). I booked flights for November just before this latest update. Good luck, I hope we both get to see our new families soon.
This blog is very interesting but it’s very hard to read the updates only. I would recommend to organize it in chapters so you can easily skip the old content
Well this timing is expected – because 48 hours ago I finally cancelled our plans to arrive June 20th. LOL
I had a great deal with miles for airfare, inexpensive AirBNBs, and a points hotel near Tokyo Disneyland so I held out as long as we could. Still feels like there will be too much uncertainty for a few more weeks and we were getting close to the point of no more free cancellation. Also what’s the lead time to get tourist visas going to be?
I’d like to know a lot more about these group tours. If its “wear a mask, we’ll monitor where you go and give you a separate train car” I’d consider it. If its “ride this bus around the countryside and look out the windows” that’s not our travel style. At this point we’ve booked a US based cruise instead so its not an option. I agree with Tom that the logistics of what is described is nearly impossible.
Saying they want to be in line with other G7 countries, I’m guessing they will let all tourists in, possibly with pre-arrival tests and 2 or 3 vaccinations and will have a cap per day – which they will increase at intervals. I think in 2-3 weeks we will know all. And I think your initial 20th June is looking good LOL
I suspect by that date it will be fine. (And I have no issue with vaccinations, testing, and each country’s right to choose when and how to handle Covid.) But we probably won’t know until 2-3 weeks before, and I’m too much of a planner to wait that long.
So next Spring Break it is. Time to book that now before there’s more certainty and prices skyrocket.
As much as the news are promising I think you two are being way too optimistic believing that by June 20th everything will be roses and rainbows and free to go lmao
As much as they have stated they will “be in line with G7”, doesn’t mean they will. Group tours by itself already is something that no other G7 country did before reopening.
Japan has taught us many times during this pandemic that:
– You must not celebrate until the very end
– What applies to others doesn’t apply to us
– Consideration, lots of consideration and very few, limited actions.
Its still very unlikely Japan will be re-open to unrestricted non-group tours anytime in June.
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/356599
Potential group tours in May.
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA051360V00C22A5000000/?n_cid=SNSTW001&n_tw=1651808851
All still TBC.
So potentially group tours in May, then potentially a small reopening to regular tourists in June, reopening to more in stages, is how I’ve understood it. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, please.
I find the idea of monitored tours massively off putting and would never go on one, but hopefully it will reintroduce the idea of having tourists to the public with minimal risk.
Its no rocket science:
1. Japanese Gov are cowards
2. They will be forced to reopen drip by drip and by EOY or early 2023 you should be able tp hop on a plane and visit with min fuss.
3. If there is a new surge or a new variant you can bet your house Japan will close again and repeat the whole pathetic game of 2021-22 all over again.
4. Either give up on Japan and say it “f**k Japan” or pray and I mean pray all gods of all religions that there is no new variant or surge in Fall.
Simple.
“Kishida gave a lecture at the City of London, England, on the 5th of Japan time, and expressed his intention to significantly ease Japan’s border measures in June”
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/356315
Let’s see what June brings us.
Here is the official translation:
We have now eased border control measures significantly, with the next easing taking place in June, when Japan will introduce a smoother entry process similar to that of other G7 members.
This update is huge. I wonder whether the update will be simply an easing for currently allowed visitors or one for tourism. (And please not that guided tour plan 😅). The transcript makes me very hopeful.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Transcript-Japan-PM-Kishida-s-speech-in-London
I hope we get an update or timeline asap. Any bets on when?
I don’t think it’ll be for regular tourism, but hopefully a road map will finally be laid out.
While I’m hopeful for this faint hint of a development…
Do realize that a “smoother entry process” would only be applicable for those who are currently allowed entry (students, workers, residents, business travelers, diplomats, & citizens).
There is currently no entry process for tourists, so a smoother version of zero is still zero.
He mentioned in an interview clip that tourism isn’t part of the plan at the moment, although it might be included based on infection rates (which we’ve heard before too many times). So I think you guys are right on the money.
That said, one would have thought that if it were a similar setup to other G7 countries, as he claimed, it should have included tourism.
I agree, this is something I’ve been saying for the past couple of months.
I said we could potentially see tourism, after the election, for autumn IF there was a much larger reopening for all other travellers in the summer. This follows my theory, but obviously we’ll have to wait and see what the actual details are.
Dropping the cap and testing on arrival would put them in line with the G7, but so would letting in tourists (which is very unlikely), so who knows what we’ll get at this point, going by what’s been said.
I am a Japanese teacher living in Los Angeles. We have had to cancel our normal spring field trip for two years now, and had to cancel the trip for spring 2022. We are certainly hoping for a chance to introduce our students to Japan and let them practice their Japanese language skills in spring 2023! Wow, that will have been 4 years since our last trip. So sad! But we will keep hoping.
I have finally written Japan out of my future travel plans. I have been to Japan more than 30 times in the last 10 years, but this long closure has soured me to revisiting. I had a trip planned in August of 2021, that I delayed until May 22nd of this year. I have now canceled that trip and am heading to South Korea. I doubt Japan will be on my travel schedule for at least the next 5 years. Still love the country, people and the beauty, but that is not enough to overcome the aversion I have to spending any funds in a country whose actions have been so anti tourist.
Same. I was learning Japanese, but feel my love for Japan is lost. 🙁
Hi everyone!! I’ve got a question. My mum is Japanese living in Greece with me. I would like to visit my relatives in Japan but I don’t have any grandparents. I’ve got an aunt, cousins, nephews and nieces. According to the japanese consulate in Greece you can visit first and second degree relatives but while on the internet the term “second degree relatives” includes uncles and aunts the consulate doesn’t agree with that and informed me that I’m not eligible for a special entry visa. Is there a possibility that they are mistaken?
I have been researching this heavily, as I am trying to get a special entry visa, also. My understanding is that if you are the “child” of a Japanese national (your mom), you can qualify. My mom was from Japan and is buried there.
However, the requirement is that you have a “Koseki Tohon” which is the Japanese equivalent of family birth records. I am having a great deal of trouble getting that, even with a cousin in Japan trying to help. Take a look at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for the list of documents you need to qualify with a Certificate of Eligibility. Hope this helps. Good Luck!!
I think Japan will open eventually and after September it will be much easier to travel to but still with some restrictions. I am planning to go there after September 2022 as I want to see Tokyo like the old good times. In any any case Seoul is already open for vaccinated people and that is exciting news.