Japan to lift entry ban on travelers from 9 countries, regions; exempt returning residents from quarantine

Which Idiot wants to travel to China?

yes of course China ...

wtf Suga ?

I can understand that China is rather important as most Tourists come from there and they usually spent lots of money :/

Maybe Japan should hand out leaflets in Chinese to every Chinese tourist about how to properly behave in Japan ... not that I am doing everything perfect (guess I do lots of wrong things too but at least I try my best)

Is my understanding correct?

People from mainland China can come into Japan without any quarantine?

WTF!

That is Number 1 BS!

Japan needs workers to exploit and work to death.

No Monty - your understanding is not correct. Read the article properly.

 7 other countries, plus Taiwan

Save my friends! And Zoidberg!

Japan should seriously consider stop dancing around the issue of Taiwan being a country already.

These countries have all done significantly better than Japan in the pandemic. I wonder what travel advisories they have for Japan.

Is this a joke, the government lowering travel restrictions for China. the country where the COVID-19 originated? I was looking for a punchline but couldn’t find one.

garthToday  05:25 pm JST

These countries have all done significantly better than Japan in the pandemic

You actually believe China's figures?

You actually believe China's figures?

The figures were manipulated by the CCP. The whole world knows this. They can't fool anyone anymore. Callous regime with total disregard for human lives.

@the resident

What is the meaning of that from the article?

With the measure, travelers will no longer need to observe a 14-day quarantine upon arrival

From November 1, all arriving travellers will not have to self isolate for 14 days.

@the Resident

All arriving travelers includes mainland China, ね？

Tourists from China do not have to quarantine if they have a negative Covid test, but foreign residents and Japanese do? WTF?

Might find it doesn't change much considering the rate of infection in Japan has a pretty steady daily rate of around 200 per 4-6 thousand people (tested). Japan is not considered a safe place to travel.

I don't think any of these countries Australia, Brunei, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will allow any of their citizens to travel back from Japan without an additional 2 week stay in quarantine on their return.

Since china already have a vaccine for corona ... I might take a trip there and get one but oh wait I have a 2 week quarantine If i want to go there... go figure....

So this shows you how seriously this Virus is really, no one taking it seriously any more.

its all been a scamdemic right from the beginning, or maybe its a shamdemic

@James

Might find it doesn't change much considering the rate of infection in Japan has a pretty steady daily rate of around 200 per 4-6 thousand people (tested). 

That is the average Tokyo rate of daily infection.

For Japan as a a whole its 3 to 4+ times that. Today its 775 in the country, yesterday 803. And BTW, both days are higher than any single day last spring when the first wave shutdowns began. Japan didn't have more that 800+ cases until the second wave hit in late July)

@zichi

What's happening with the permanent residents? Are they allowed back in?

Umm, PRs from any country have been allow to re-enter Japan since August. Same with just about any resident visa holder.

Taiwan - no new infections for around 200 days - how long will that last if they open for travel? They should retain a quarantine for inbound travelers and test.

Wait.. what?

COVID cases will increase again thanks to some tourists...Dear God...

Japan never should open again for some tourists who brought COVID to Japan...

@LudditeToday  

Tourists from China do not have to quarantine if they have a negative Covid test, but foreign residents and Japanese do? WTF?

Ah... No. And ahh... No. You apparently missed this part of the article:

"Japan, however, continues to suspend visa waiver agreements with other countries and limit the issuance of new visas, meaning in most cases tourists will still not be able to visit."

As well as this:

"Suga said Japan will ease its requirement for Japanese nationals and foreign residents returning from overseas to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, also from Nov 1"

Next time, try reading before coming to false conclusions.

the first time Japan has lifted its entry ban on any country or region since it began putting parts of China including Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected, on the list in early February.

wait, wasn't the originating country that brought this to Japan from China? Which business in Japan has their hands in Suga's pocket and calling the shots. Definitely someone behind the scenes calling the shots.

A few days ago a Thai student returned from Japan with the virus-he had been walking around asymptomatic in Japan.

Cases here are on an upward trajectory ....again!

Why ?!! Keep them out . It is still too early.

Well.. those Chinese stuck in Japan can't get back to China, until the re-entry ban is lifted.

But Chinese CCP members like Japan as a safe haven... hence why we havent seen such a great influx of Covid cases.

But the whole international travel permission thing is rubbish... this is exactly what has led to the UK seeing a huge increase in infections. Unnecessary International travel should be stopped until the Pandemic has been curtailed. Repatriation of individuals should be allowed and managed under strict quarantine rules. Companies should be forced to not fire individuals subjected to such rules.

The rule should be "DO NOT GO ABROAD" and "ALLOW NO OVERSEAS VISITORS" until this pandemic is resolved.

What is the meaning of that from the article?

With the measure, travelers will no longer need to observe a 14-day quarantine upon arrival

Read the sentence preceding it, that only applies to business travellers from Vietnam, not China.

There are many Japanese who would like to return/ visit Japan, from Northern California, U S, where the numbers of new patients have been diminished . . . Will Japan consider lifting the entry ban based on the County from which a person is from?

All International Travel should be banned Globally unless one-way repatriation to permanent residency.

Exceptions should be allowed, such as attending a Funeral of a Family member - but then upon return Strict Quarantine rules should be enforced. Though exceptions should be monitored and controlled to avoid abuse.

To be eligible for the exemption, returning travelers will need to limit their overseas trips to within seven days, and for the first 14 days upon their return refrain from using public transportation and save their smartphone GPS data to aid in contact tracing, as well as submit an itinerary detailing their plans during that time.

So you still have to quarantine if you have been out of the county for more than 7 days?

Quarantine should be done properly.... not like the UK, where you can .. travel to your quarantine location unchecked/escorted.

And yes, you should not be allowed to travel outside of your current Country unless you have an approved reason for doing so, and an approved return quarantine route, which does not impact your employment.

If your employer does not grant you the exceptional quarantine period, then they should be named and shamed, and legally held accountable.

If you flouted the rules and went on a "Holiday" then likewise, you too should be held accountable and loose your job.

The British situation is sadly due to the idiocy of the population thinking they can do what they want, and that has been "edged on" by certain media publications...

The Rupert Murdoch media empire is about to find itself with a huge back lash supported by Governments across the World - I would not be surprised if he is imprisoned in a very public trial.

Countries with money or special status like Thailand.

Been announced on the MOFA website that from Sunday residents will no longer have to quarantine or get permission to renter the country before leaving Japan. Still have to get the impossible 72 hour PCR test before coming back though.

https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001074.html

Do you know how many people Japanese companies employed in china? The number is 3 million people.

so If the epidemic is still rampant in China, there must be infected people among these three million people, and the Japanese employers will know it for sure not to mention that German and American companies also employ millions people in China have you ever heard news about infected employees in China?

China can’t manipulate the figures. Japanese government knows that.

Well that's one hurdle cleared.

Hopefully, nz will relax their rules too and my parents can see their grandkids in the not too distant future.

Does this mean tourists are allowed to travel to Japan from those countries?

I am from New Zealand. I have a Japanese wife. We want to come back to Japan to live.

We want to buy a house(cash purchase)

There seems to be conflicting information on the Net.

If some can clarafie what I can and cannot do, please e-mail me at

kinosakionsen55@gmail.com

Well, I can only admit that the decision is reasonable. We might not believe China's figures, but let's face it at least they seem to be keeping it at a level where they can cover it up, which is significantly better than the average "Caucasian" part of this planet.

"Suga said Japan will ease its requirement for Japanese nationals and foreign residents returning from overseas to undergo a 14-day quarantine period, also from Nov 1, a move aimed at facilitating business trips."

From where did you guys got this information? Any link that you could share?

The MOFA site says the following under "quarantine measures".

"(2) All nationals arriving from all regions are called upon to wait 14 days at a location designated by the quarantine station chief and to refrain from using public transportation for the time being."

https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html

@wanderlust

Taiwan - no new infections for around 200 days - how long will that last if they open for travel? They should retain a quarantine for inbound travelers and test.

August 1 - Taiwan reports 7 new COVID-19 cases, including possible domestic case

https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202008010009

August 5 - Japanese man confirmed to have COVID-19 after returning to Japan from Taiwan; CECC launches investigation

https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En/Bulletin/Detail/NlfIMFokZqJqsjGciCMMVw?typeid=158

Sept 23 - 18 Filipinos, 1 Japanese confirmed with COVID-19 after leaving Taiwan

https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202009230020

Oct 14 - 3 Japanese test positive for coronavirus after returning from Taiwan

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4029890

Certainly doesn't look like no new infections for 200 days to me.

So hilarious. Leave comments first without actually reading story. Travel Ministry is opening for mainly business related travel. Of course we don't want Chinese tourists back, but their fat wallets drive the economy which is a sad fact to accept.

Lifting the entry ban for NZ is a bit meaningless for me. Would still need to quarantine for 14 days on the way back into NZ. And there is no way NZ will lift restrictions on travelers from Japan with 800 or so infections in the country a day.

Let me get this straight. For those who won't need to quarantine, they still won't be allowed to take public transport from the airport? And for PRs who need to go visit their home country, a 7-day visit is not normally enough. A 3-day visit might suffice for Japanese tourists, but a weekend visit will not be enough for PRs.

As for China, nowhere does the article state that tourists will be coming from China. I am assuming it's to allow permanent residents to return to Japan from China. PRs should be allowed back no matter where they come from, although I'd think twice about those from USA.

Lifting the entry ban for NZ is a bit meaningless for me.

No New Zealander in their right mind would want to come to Japan.

zenji:

I am from New Zealand. I have a Japanese wife. We want to come back to Japan to live.

The unofficial government line is, your wife is welcome. You, not so much. You're trapped outside, and we're trapped inside.

Reading from the MOFA website, PRs still need the 72h pre-departure test when re-entering Japan, so nothing changed on the double standards approach of the Japanese government: one rule for its citizens and one rule for all the other nationals. Discrimination on the basis of nationality is called racism !