In a much-anticipated announcement, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the country would end its daily arrivals cap while also allowing visa-free tourism starting Oct. 11, 2022. Here is a link to the official Updated Border Measures.

Currently, Japan caps daily arrivals at 50,000 and required all foreign tourists to enter the country as part of registered tour groups.

This announcement marks the end of most of Japan’s pandemic restrictions.

Prior to the pandemic, Japan was one of APAC’s most popular destinations. However, it has maintained strict entry requirements longer than other APAC nations and its economy has suffered as a result. Singapore and Australia, which eased their COVID restrictions, are already seeing volumes ahead of their 2019 levels.

Japan will likely catch up quickly as a weak yen makes the country an appealing destination.

Here are the full details on Japan’s eased restrictions.

VISAs

Visa Exemptions

The current suspension of visa exemption measures will be lifted. For countries applicable to the visa exemption, please refer to the Japan MOFA website.

Visa Validity

The current suspension of visa validity will also be lifted. Passengers who hold a single or multiple entry visa within the validity period will be allowed to enter Japan. For more details on the visa requirements from October 11th, 2022, please refer to the Japan MOFA website.

APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC)

Traveling with APEC Business Travel Card issued by the following counties will be resumed:

• Australia
• Brunei
• Chile
• China
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Peru
• Philippines
• Republic of Korea
• Russia
• Singapore
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Vietnam

Quarantine Measures

Passengers

• Required Documents: All passengers entering Japan are required to present the following documents to the quarantine officer upon arrival:
  • a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative certificate (Please see attached files for requirements.)

• • QR code of Questionnaire https://arqs-qa.followup.mhlw.go.jp/
• Fast Track Entry: For fast entry into Japan, it is strongly recommended to use the MySOS app. Detailed information is available at Japan MHLW website >> https://www.hco.mhlw.go.jp/fasttrack/en/
• On-arrival COVID-19 Test: All passengers regardless of their vaccination status, are no longer required to conduct COVID-19 testing upon arrival.
• Quarantine After Entry into Japan: All passengers regardless of their vaccination status, are no longer required to quarantine after entry into Japan.

Flight Crew

• Visa/Shore Pass: Passport holders of 68 visa-exempt countries may enter Japan without a visa/shore pass. Countries for visa exemptions can be found at Japan MOFA website >> https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/novisa.html.
• Required Documents: Crew members are required to have either a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative certificate. (Please see attached files for requirements.)
• On-arrival COVID-19 Test: Regardless of vaccination status, crew members are not required to conduct COVID-19 testing upon arrival.
• Quarantine After Entry into Japan: Regardless of vaccination status, crew members are not required to quarantine after entry into Japan.

 Please note that if crew members have neither a COVID-19 vaccination certificate nor a negative certificate, they are required to quarantine at their hotel and take an antigen test on DAY-3. If the test results are negative, they may end their quarantine.

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