As the country’s vaccine rollout accelerates, Japan has started issuing vaccine passports in paper format, with plans to upgrade to a digital, app-based format by mid-December. However, the country’s vaccine passport is currently limited to outbound travel use, meaning citizens and foreign residents still have to quarantine for 14 days upon returning to Japan, even though they have been fully vaccinated.
Kyodo News reports that the leading business lobby in Japan, known as Keidanren, is proposing that the government exempt fully vaccinated travellers from quarantine when entering Japan. The aim is to resume international travel into Japan and at the same time restart Japan’s economy, which has been badly hit by the pandemic. Currently, Japan is implementing a near blanket ban on entry by foreign nationals, except those holding a valid residence visa and re-entry permit.
Here are Keidanren’s main recommendations:
- Exempt overseas arrivals from quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated
- Shorten the quarantine period from 14 days to ten
- Allow the sale of approved Covid-19 antigen test kits at drugstores
The business lobby proposes that Japan should actively restart social and economic activities once the current surge of Covid-19 cases subsides and vaccination exceeds 80 percent of the population.
Just last week, news broke that as Japan seeks to fully vaccinate all willing residents by the end of November, the government is looking into possibly lifting the ban on alcohol sales at bars and restaurants. There is also a possibility that the Go to Travel subsidy programme could make a comeback by year-end to stimulate domestic tourism.
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