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!
Cases seem to be jumping upwards all of a sudden. Part of me is worried that this will slow down any reopening. Thoughts?
Reopening will be super slow cases or no cases so probably doesn’t make much difference.
This could be used as an excuse for Kishida, his supporters, and the media to keep the situation going on for longer, which is their dream but not sure for how long they can hold on, mainly because of diplomacy problems.
Despite compliance, fatigue is getting in Japan too.
Unlikely this would change anything as the seasonal wave will probably start slowing down near the elections (if not earlier).
THe JP media tried to scare people during Golden Week as well but in the end nothing happened.
Currently only really in Tokyo. The national picture is a bit better. Hopefully they get it into their heads that this will continue to happen indefinitely.
Eventually they will get it but even then are you guys ok with masking up everywhere even while walking in the street? I am not and until the mask hysteria subsides I wont be visiting even if they paid me.
In the official EU G7 (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2022/06/26-28/) page there’s this tidbit:
“The EU will also:
highlight the need to end the current pandemic”
It’s likely that some sort of discussion on the borders will take place during the meeting (though is likely, for now, there won’t be any “news”). I’ll check the final statement by the members once it’s released to the public to see if there’s any mention of freedom of travel.
I read the entire statement (and it was extremely boring), but there’s no mention of visas or the likes. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t some lower-level diplomatic discussion, but without a “deep throat”, it’s hard to tell.
Since the virus is here to stay cases will continue to go up and down indefinitely. Does that mean that there’s always the threat that they may open and close over and over til the end of times? The article us brilliantly written but I hope that cases going down isn’t the only indicator because they’ll go up again and then down again and the up again and so on like every other, less profitable (for the Pharma industry) respiratory diseases. At these staged all these measures are pretty much redundant and obsolete to be honest. 4 doses of vaccine, boosters every 4 months (do you know any other disease that requires a booster every 3-4 months? I don’t), effective pills, etc and they’re still closed or using restrictions. Absurd to the highest possible degree, indicating this has nothing to do with epidemiology or, as the Democrats call it, the “science” (🤣🤣🤣)
The restrictions clearly have nothing to do with the pandemic. They have just become comfortable in their own little bubble now.
Japan will only return to normal the day the government reduces Covid to the lowest risk level.
Japanese people have no free will, they just robotically follow what they are told. Since the PM message keeps being the same from 2020, they still think the rules are okay and should be kept, and that foreigners, if allowed, will instantly result in a hospitalization crisis because they don’t think we are able to follow their rules.
I hope they reduce it to Class 5 shortly after the election so we can progress with the reopening.
Agree. Just consider this: in 100 degree heat with suffocating humidity the idiots are walking with mask everywhere. Its a sorry and pathetic state of affairs. I dont care if they let me in tomorrow, I wont be going until this sadistic mentality changes which could be years from now.
It seems, according to this article, that Covid-19 may be reduced to just an endemic or a seasonal flu. If they manage to push this through, alothoug probably not before after the election, it will bode well for international tourism.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/26/national/politics-diplomacy/japanese-political-parties-economy/
Currently about to pull the trigger on an April 2023 trip. SURELY they’ll be re-open by then, unless another variant comes along…
Wouldn’t pull the trigger on anything until there is an announcement. Even though it seems like it would be ridiculous for them not to be open by then there is no guarantee they will be. Wouldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility that group tours are the future of travel in Japan.
100% Calum. Especially these days with airlines no longer as lenient with cancellations and refunds
Not a chance group tours are permanent, unless Japan wants to ruin visa free travel with the majority of the West.
I appreciate this stage sucks, but let’s all tone down the hyperbole.
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/election/sangiin/20220623-OYT1T50354/
Just thought I’d point you all in the direction of this interview with Kishida ahead of July’s elections.
――新型コロナウイルス対策としての水際対策のさらなる緩和時期をどう考える。
今は、最大限の感染症対策を維持しながら徐々に社会経済活動を回復する状況にある。各国の水際対策や国内外の感染状況をしっかり見なければならない。コロナは変異を繰り返しており、「年内」といった目標を掲げるのは難しいが、平時を早く取り戻したい。
Obviously, this could be interepted as if individual tourists may not be allowed in this year, however, I suspect he means that returning to 2019 “normal” border measures may not be realistic. As we know, there is a huge difference between pre-pandemic borders and during/post-covid & allowing individual tourists. Not even the US is back to normal in regards to border measures so I highly doubt Japan will be before them. I also doubt Kishida will want to rock the boat too much before the election.
Perhaps someone with a more indepth knowledge of the language can weigh in on how he has worded his answer.
It’s a non-answer. Like everything he’s been asked up to now, he refuses to take a clear stance (economy, energy, borders, etc) to avoid potential “problems”.
Until the elections it will be basically impossible to tell what he has in mind.
Also EU is mostly back to normal border measures (to make an example. US was an exception with the stupid – until recently – pre-departure test. Also US took months – like Japan – of pressure to reopen the borders) so I feel the “never get back to 2019” interpretation is not the correct one.
Sure, I think the question and worry for some was whether “normal” this year meant individual tourism or not, but I agree with you.
Europe still differs quite a lot when it comes to vaccination requirements for inbound travellers, and the US still require it, so if Kishida just means “back to normal” as “before Covid” then it’s realistic of him to say it may not be possible this year, seeing as other countries “further along” aren’t back to normal border measures yet either.
Best case this year you will be allowed to sneak in as ind tourist but will be required to mask up everywhere inc outdoors. The optimist in me says thats what Kishida meant by return to normal. If however we get significant winter wave he will shut the door in a New York minute.
I know Japan is different 😁 but isn’t it reasonable to believe that he’ll open borders some time in fall but with just raising the cap and allowing eg “blue group” or another set of counties first, with whatever masking requirements etc. I would think this would ease “both sides’” minds (ie not pull off the bandaid all at once and continues gradual reentry?) omicron and all subvariants have proven to be mild for the vast majority of populations since February. The local population is 80% triple vaxxed and they’ve been slowly getting locals used to the idea of mass tourism again, I just think it will continue to be phased. I could still see an announcement not coming until late august after the “busy” summer season. But who the heck knows lol. Keeping expectations low and knowing they are just super slow / months behind everyone else but keeping up hope.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWF13avXkAICt_p?format=jpg&name=large
His election pledge seems even more vague, which comes as no surprise, but at least “full scale movement” is mentioned.
I hate this bit “各国の水際対策や国内外の感染状況をしっかり見なければならない” so much, pisses me off. lol
It has been the most repeatedly used statement by all main government members the past like 3 months, even tho Japan is clearly not giving a shit about other countries border measures and situation of infection abroad.
If they really were looking closely into that for so long, they already would’ve noticed that nothing happens if you reopen the borders, as well as noticed how the pandemic have settled down around the world for months now.
It’s a good way to deflect any kind of criticism until the elections. This way, after X time (who knows when) they can say “See? the situation abroad is under control so we can reopen! We were never wrong!”.
they should reopen the borders in full after the elections lol
It saddens me a lot that unmarried couples are still ignored at this point with these regulations. I really want to go to Japan to see my Japanese partner to whom I’m not married yet, but these monitored group tours are of no use for me or other people in my situation. Please don’t tell me that waiting for 2.5+ years to meet again in person was not enough and I should just stay calm, be patient and wait more. These baby steps towards the true reopening are extremely frustrating and only amplify the agony of waiting. Of course, my boyfriend and I will wait (cuz what else can we do, right?) and we are already thinking about a destination for our summer vacation, somewhere midway, where it’s easy to travel from both of our home countries. We can find a way to meet because as the saying goes “if there’s will, there’s a way”. But my impression about Japan has completely changed recently and I have a feeling that this bitter taste I was left with won’t go away anytime soon.
Since 1st. June you can do that if you are “betrothed”!
Look here towards the bottom of the page: https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page22e_000921.html
Just a few days ago I was able to apply for a visa to visit my fiancée in Japan 🙂
I didn’t receive receive it yet, but the officer told me it was looking “very positive” 🙂
yokatta- finally 🙂
Good luck to you!
What kind of information did you submit for your application? I received information from the embassy but the hurdles seem impossible.
Thank you very much for this piece of information, Max. It’s very helpful. I will definitely check it out with the local embassy in my country and see what I can do.
I’m very happy for you and I hope your application will be approved. Good luck! 🙂
@She thank you very much, the same to you, fingers crossed it will work for all of us 😉
@Calum we had to prove our relationship somehow by providing proof of communication and/or: photos, common tickets, apartment registrations etc.
+ proof of enough financial means for the stay
My fiancée had to submit her home registration document, pledge (she will be held accountable for me adhering to Corona measures etc), write an invitation letter and fill out a “schedule of stay” document, where you should describe in detail what you’re planning to do and where you’ll be staying each day 😀
Obviously that last part is a bit difficult since you can’t plan exactly beforehand especially when you don’t know if you’ll get the visa or not.
There’s a hurdle, but we are extremely happy that there’s now at least an option for us to be together again. I hope it will work.
Were there additional documents/ difficulties for you?
I hope it will work for all of us trying to get together again with our
partners.
I’m in the exact same situation. I’m hoping borders may open for regular tourism by December but if not I might resort to spending money going back to school just to get a student visa so I can see my boyfriend. He has a full-time job in Japan so traveling to the US or even halfway is not even an option for us because of how strict the Japanese are with work vacations. Definitely feeling disappointed in Japan as well.
I was in the same situation as you but my girlfriend changed to a remote working job so she could come to the UK and work from her laptop.
@Maho maybe you can get a visa now that it’s not impossible anymore?
@Calum that’s great!
May I ask what kind of job she is doing now? Mine is also trying to find remote work, but it seems very difficult especially when you also need flexible working hours, unless you want to work at night when you’re in Europe…
Aside from the possibility that your Japanese partner can travel to your country instead, you could also both meet somewhere in between (Thailand, Singapore, Hawaii, etc). There are no restrictions anymore for a Japanese person to re-enter Japan from abroad.
So if this Japanese person is unable to travel due to a physical impairment, that would be sad yet understandable. But this person no longer needs to quarantine on return, be vaxed to re-enter, etc. So to meet, you need not be the only one who must travel.
Were you so desperate to be “that guy” that you didn’t even bother to read their post to the end?
Its tough for Japanese people to travel often because of the work schedule so this not viable for a lot of long distance couples.
I really want to come again Japan and walk one last time at Akiba and Shinjuku.But i will not give up.Maybe after summer will something change i guess.I will keep watching and reading comments.But by the way i want to thanks Tom for your help and also Travelcaffeine.Keep it up guys! Have a nice Summer everyone.Greetings From Greece.
For those of us still feeling a little confused or let down by Japan’s draconian entry restrictions it might behoove to take a look at Japan’s past experiences with xenophobia. While most of us know about the infamous Tokugawa era isolationist period “Sakoku” as it will be know later on “First Great Sakoku” its interesting that the shogunate under immense pressure agreed to let specific foreign trade missions come in but only under closed supervision and limited to a specific area (in this case Dejima Island in Nagasaki). Sounds familiar? Funny how history often rhymes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFJRc6jYOaI&t=929s
List of things that make me still have hope for September:
– The growing pressure from inside. There has never been so many japanese articles and politicians critizing the inbound tourism situation.
– The pressure from South Korea, who seems very upset with Japan’s reluctance on changing visa policies.
– That EU visa situation which they are already monitoring closely
– The fact that JTB is selling tour packages that don’t seem to have restrictions for September
– That JATA proposal which seems like they are following
– That Tourism Expo event. It would be ridiculously ironic at best, in a current “back to normal” world, to have such event being hosted by one of the very few places on earth still imposing travel restrictions lmao
Thank you for this! I was aware of all of these, but it’s still nice seeing them listed out all together. It’s a little reassuring. Let’s keep hoping! Pressure certainly keeps ramping up.
I used to go to Japan for a few weeks every year, always the highlight of my year. I had a 3.5 week trip with my friends who haven’t been before planned for late March 2020, which of course we had to cancel. We’ve been postponing our trip every six months with great sadness and disappointment each time. It has impacted our jobs, future plans, financial decisions, etc., but we really, deeply want to go on this trip.
We have our next attempt planned for September 20, 2022, and it’s so hard to know if I should be hopeful or not at this point. I’m not letting myself get properly excited until there’s more concrete information, but this time it feels so possible that if I have to cancel yet again, it’s going to be especially painful.
I’ve been extensively and constantly keeping an eye on the news around Japan’s tourism reopening and they sure refuse to give us any kind of certainty whatsoever. I’m hoping we’ll at least get some sort of plan or timeline after the election. Just wanted to express my frustration and uncertainty.
I’m slightly hopeful because on Air Canada’s website, direct flights from Toronto to Tokyo resume in November. It’s not available any time before them. Could this mean something? There was no official announcement from Air Canada, of course, but if they made those flights specifically available starting November… maybe they have insider info we don’t? Seems like a very arbitrary date to pick.
British airways have done the same thing for London departures, but I wouldn’t read too much into it.
That’s strange, a couple of weeks ago I decided to take a chance and booked a round trip from Toronto to Tokyo (Narita) with Air Canada starting in early September. Good price and I can change the date if I have to. Maybe you mean that they are restarting the direct flight to Tokyo Haneda in November, but the Narita one is already available. I think Air Canada are just gradually building up their capacity for Canada – Japan.
Ita Airways (Italy) has done exactly the same. Only flights from November, I don’t think this is a coincidence… if a few companies are suddenly erasing the bookings and flights until November. In my case, we had a booked trip for August, the company has cancelled the flights, giving the money back already.
300 people will enter Japan for the monitored group tours this month. 1000 in July. Hilarious and sad at the same time.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220617/k10013676911000.html
Kishida won’t care until the elections, but this is a complete and utter PR disaster.
And to this you have to add BoJ’s extremely bizarre monetary policy.
If he waits until immediately after the election for announcements, it will be TOO obvious what they were doing. So maybe he’ll wait a few weeks/months after it just to make it look like it isn’t purely political. Saving face and all that.
I wish at least Japan will issue transit visa so it can eliminate my hassle to fight agency company that I’ve purchased ticket. My layover in Japan is over 23 hours and airport closed during night time makes me to cancel my flight.
The SK minister visit has been postponed “after the elections”. I’ve seen a few SK news sites and there’s trace of irritation in reporting the news. It’s likely that the visit would have coincided with the announcement of visa exemption. The government is really terrified of elections…
Another hint is that the Singapore PM (I think? I don’t remember) said that citizens should be able to enter Japan “after the elections”.
Looking at https://www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/guide/viewetaalification.do it seems that Japan is not on the list of countries that can apply for tourist travel to SK. I’m guessing it’s a tit for tat thing, considering many eligible countries have far higher case rates than Japan. If only more countries would do the same.
Yep, SK is the only country in the world that had the balls to apply reciprocity on Japan’s stupidity. They are still not issuing tourist visas for Japan exactly because of that.
Interesting discovery…. I logged into the Shinjuku public street cam during the day yesterday and 95% of Japanese are wearing facemasks, however when I viewed the same public street cam in the early morning, this morning, I counted the percentage of those wearing face mask dropped to below 50%. My take away? Whilst face mask wearing is still significantly influenced by public perception, the Japanese public, especially the youth are also feeling/believing the worst of this pandemic is behind them and the freedom and convenience of not wearing facemasks is starting to outweigh, public perception and health benefits beliefs of doing so. Hopefully this also inches the border door open a little further, and be more confident to be welcomed back into Japan as individual tourists soon.
Watch the same live camera after 11pm on a Friday or Saturday, you will see even less, haha.
So we have regressed from watching hours of NHK to watching webcam footage now looking for clues when we will be allowed in this magnificent country? Wow talk about the decline of Western Civilization
I mean, I’ve probably watched a total of 2 minutes of them when they come up on my YouTube suggestions, but sure!
I, on the other hand, watch the maskless masses in the live cams of Piccadilly Circus and Times Square and imagine “What if…”
Must be tough in the Summer, Andy. Japan will get there.
More calls for ending restrictions in the news, this time from both Overseas Tour Operators Association of Japan and from the Asia Pacific branch of Airports Council International. The pressure keeps ramping up. Not to mention I’m sure a lot of Japanese have probably noticed that even their frenemy neighbour South Korea has opened to tourism without seeing a giant spike in cases (or more importantly, deaths).
Come on, Japan. Don’t let those damn Koreans make a fool of you and hoard all that tourist money.
Do you have any links perhaps? I’d like to read some if possible.
https://www.travelvoice.jp/english/a-japanese-tour-operators-association-warns-japan-is-not-selected-as-a-tourist-destination-if-the-regulations-goes-on
https://www.ttgasia.com/2022/06/14/aci-apac-calls-for-removal-of-japans-travel-restrictions/
I’m baffled at the government silence.
Matsuno (the cabinet spokeperson) on Monday replied to the Keidairen’s request of easing border restrictions…simply repeating the same sentence: “we are monitoring the situation”. They don’t seem to have a clear goal or plan.
What’s worse, I’ve seen zero reaction from the tumbling of the yen as well (which would be more expected than border easing since it’s affecting the economy as whole).
Is the government so terrified of the elections?
I saw an article saying his approval rate has fallen quite a bit because people are unsatisfied with the handling of the yen situation, so maybe we’ll see some action soon?
From what I read, Kishida has a reputation of sometimes being “indecisive”, and you can really see not only with the border measures, but also with the yen. The government seems paralyzed, waiting for elections.
The inaction on the yen is oddly reassuring–it makes clear that this closure isn’t just about perception towards foreigners, it’s at least partly Japan’s typical analysis paralysis.
It’ll be interesting to see if BOJ actually does anything, or if they remain out of step with the Fed and other central banks.
I entered Japan on July 11th from Switzerland. My wife is Japanese and thus I could get a Visa quite easily. Filled out the paper work respectively the MySOS app before leaving the country.
When we arrived at Haneda, entry procedures were quite smooth. We were guided through the airport building to a big hall. Everyone with a “blue” status in the MySOS app could advance easily, the others needed to show some more papers to get the “blue status”. Haneda was not busy at 8am, so from leaving the plane to pass through customs it took me only 30min or so.
From what I see even some LDP candidates for the elections are asking for removal of restrictions. The whole thing seems to have blown in Kishida’s face.
Honestly, I was surprised at the amount of backlash, even from the media. The pressure seems to keep going too. Of course it’s difficult to say if it’ll have an actual impact.