In recent weeks, rumors and reportage regarding the general relaxation of Japan’s COVID-era border bans have abounded. Japan’s entry ban has been among the world’s strictest and longest-lasting throughout the pandemic; not only have tourists generally been unable to enter for the past two years, but visas have only recently begun being issued for workers, family, students, and trainees. Now, at long last, the Japanese government has stated it will begin easing the entry ban for 106 countries. Even for citizens of those 106 countries, however, major caveats remain.
The news came in today from the National Security Council, following a rotational State of Emergency assembly of government ministers. From Friday, April 8th, “the entry ban on 106 countries will be terminated.” [1] The government states it has selected the 106 countries in question based on vaccination progress and the current spread of infection within those nations. The US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Indonesia are just a few of the countries said to be on the list. Meanwhile, Russia, Ethiopia, and Iran have been listed as among the 56 countries for whom entry bans still remain to be lifted.
Despite what “lifting the entry ban” may seem to imply, would-be tourists should still wait to pack their bags. The Foreign Ministery has further clarified that tourism will still not be considered a valid reason to enter the country. Limits on the issuance of visas will also continue. [2] In other words, it is still unclear exactly how large of a change this seemingly sweeping policy shift will really entail.
Not Much of a Change
Citizens of counties like Iran, still subject to the blanket ban, will not be able to receive visas. Those from the 106 countries now unbanned, however, will still need to apply for and receive fairly limited visas. Indeed, the Nikkei has suggested that this new policy has come into place mostly to ease travel warnings issued to Japanese citizens departing to any of the 106 countries. In other words, this is a far cry from the hoped-for day of easied entry into Japan awaited by those stuck abroad.
Japan shut its borders in early 2020; during this period, even permanent residents who were overseas when the entry ban dropped were unable to return. Six long months later, the Japanese government finally began letting non-citizen residents re-enter. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people waiting to start lives in Japan or reunite with family or partners remained in limbo. The only non-nationals who could reliably obtain visas were spouses and children of Japanese citizens. In Nov. 2020, the government briefly announced the re-start of visa issuance. This shift was scuttled almost immediately as the Delta wave began rearing its ugly head. In March, things finally shifted more permanently, with visas now slowly being issued. The government also cut the former fourteen-day quarantine for arrivals, provided they came from certain countries and were triple-vaccinated.
Unsure Steps Towards “Normalcy”
The Japanese government has previously rolled back similar changes upon observing growing coverage of COVID waves abroad; however, governmental policy appears to be trending towards slackened reactions to on-the-ground pandemic realities. Japan is currently seeing mounting COVID caseloads, and the overall number of daily infected has not decreased to even close to the country’s pre-Omicron levels. Japan may be following a similar path to countries like the US and the UK, which are currently hedging their bets on a societal return to normalcy despite a still uncertain pandemic future. In Japan, a continued high degree of masking and growing booster vaccination rate may help with this.
As regards the border, there has been a steady increase in the daily quotas on arrivals. Currently set at 7000 entries into Japan per day, the government now says the number will be raised to 10,000. As for when tourists will actually be able to return, this remains up in the air. Worth noting is that “tourist” includes all those whose sole option for entry into Japan would be a tourist visa. This includes couples in same-sex marriages, still not recognized by the national government and thus ineligible for spousal visas, non-married partners, and more. (Japan never initiated non-married partner reunion exceptions for entry, as did some European countries.)
As Japanese border policy continues to shift, we will continue bringing you updates in the days ahead.
Sources:
[1] TBS NEWS. (4/6/2022). 【速報】米英仏など１０６か国の入国Niを解除 あさってから. Yahoo! Japan News.
[2] (4/6/2022) 政府、106カ国の入国拒否解除へ ビザ発給制限は継続. Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
