From today, Japan is fully open for entry! The latest entry policies & procedures guide at a glance!

Today (Oct. 11), the Japanese government officially lifted the entry restrictions taken due to the New Crown outbreak!

According to the Japanese Ministry of Labor, the latest changes in Japan's immigration policy include.

1. For foreigners entering Japan under the new regulations

● The upper limit on the number of people entering Japan (the previous limit was 50,000 people/day) is withdrawn and there is no upper limit on the number of people.

● Starting October 11, individual tourist visas will be reopened and group travel will no longer be required.

● The original visa waiver policy was reopened with visa-free entry to as many as 68 countries, including the U.S., South Korea Residents of Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, China, and Macau, China can enter Japan visa-free with a passport and do not need a visa.

● Japanese visas will resume validity after October 11 as long as they have not expired. Mainland residents holding Japanese visas that are still valid after October 11 will be able to enter the country.

2. Entry procedures and quarantine

● For short term business and employment within 90 days, short term tourism and long term purposes, it is no longer necessary for the person responsible for receiving the visa in Japan to apply for a "Certificate of Acceptance" on the "Entrant Health Recognition System (ERFS)" in advance.

● Short-term visa applications for the purpose of "visiting relatives or friends" no longer require an affidavit from the inviting party.

When you enter Japan, you must submit proof of three vaccinations (Japanese government-approved vaccines) or proof of negative nucleic acid within 72 hours prior to your departure from Japan. There is also no longer a policy of self-quarantine for 3 days after entry into Japan, etc.

● The Japanese government recognizes WHO-recognized vaccines, including three Chinese-made vaccines (Kokusai, Kexin, and Kanginox) - if 3 doses have been administered, negative proof prior to entry will not be required.

Regarding flights to Japan, previously, Japan's Chief Executive Hiromichi Matsuno announced at a press conference that international flights to all airports in the country will resume from October 11. Two major Japanese airlines, ANA and JAL, both said they would significantly increase the number of domestic and international flights. Flights of China's Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines have also resumed.

Hong Kong Express said, in response to the relaxation of travel restrictions in Japan, will increase flights from October to December, providing more than 80,000 additional seats to and from Tokyo and Osaka, etc. In the next two weeks, the resumption of flights to Okinawa and Nagoya, flights are expected to return to the pre-epidemic level by the end of March next year.

On the other hand, in response to the new measures implemented in Japan on October 11, the Embassy of Japan in China issued a "Notice on Adjustment of Entry Restrictions for Foreigners under the New Regulations" on October 4 and updated the "Procedures Required for Travel to Japan" on October 7.

Notice on the adjustment of the new regulation of foreigners' entry restrictions

Starting from October 11, 2022 at 00:00 (Japan time), the contents of the "New Measures for Strengthening Prevention and Countermeasures against Epidemics (34) (PDF)" regarding new restrictions on the entry of foreign nationals will be adjusted, and details of the new measures such as visa applications are as follows.

1. Adjustment of restrictions on entry of foreigners under the new regulations

The restriction on the entry of foreigners under the new regulations has been lifted.

Until now, newcomer aliens who are not considered to be "special cases" are allowed to enter the country.

With the implementation of the new measures, the following changes to the entry policy have been made.

Entry for short-term business and employment within 90 days, short-term tourism, and long-term purposes will no longer be permitted.

The person responsible for receiving the entry in Japan must apply in advance on the "Entrant Health Recognition System (ERFS)".

Entry of foreign visitors is no longer limited to group tours.

Some visitor visas and transit visas have not been liberalized so far, but these visas will be allowed in the future.

Short-term visa applications for the purpose of "visiting relatives or friends" no longer require an affidavit from the inviting party.

2. Release of temporary expiration of visa

All visas issued before December 2, 2021 will be temporarily invalidated, and the validity of the above visas will be restored after October 11, 2022 at 00:00 hours (Japan time).

Therefore, persons holding a valid visa after 00:00 JST on October 11, 2022 may enter the country with this visa during the validity period of the visa.

3. Reopening of visa waiver measures

The visa waiver measure will be reintroduced from October 11, 2022 at 00:00 (JST) onwards.
Please refer to the following link for details.

Visa-exempt countries and regions (short-term stay)

*https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/toko/visa/tanki/novisa.html

Countries with diplomatic and official visa exemptions for diplomatic and official passport holders

*https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/ca/fna/page22_002019.html

Measures related to visas for holders of International Combined Passport (UN Passport) visiting Japan on UN business with their national passports.

*https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/ca/fna/page22_003329.html

In addition, the visa waiver measures stipulated in the APEC Business Travel Card program are again recognized.

For more information on the APEC Business Travel Card, please see the link below.

APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC)

*https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/apec/btc/index.html

4. Others

(1) If you are a "former permanent resident" and your re-entry has expired, please contact our office or our designated representative office.

*https://www.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_zh/consular.html#daiban

(2) For details on the expiration date of the Certificate of Eligibility, please refer to this link.

*https://www.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100401483.pdf

(3) In addition to the above, please apply for a visa according to the purpose of your visit to Japan.

*https://www.cn.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_zh/consular.html

Required Procedures for Departure to Japan (October 7)

Procedures required to travel to Japan

When entering Japan with a mainland Chinese passport, the following procedures are required in addition to a visa in advance.

1. Certificate of Vaccination

Since October 11, all vaccines listed on the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use list are considered valid vaccination certificates.

Please refer to the Japanese government's website (Japanese and English) for proof of valid vaccination (three doses). It is also recommended that travelers obtain the "International Travel Health Certificate" on WeChat in advance.
*https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/border_vaccine.html

2. Nucleic acid test

Travelers who do not have a valid certificate of vaccination (three shots) will still be required to take a nucleic acid test within 72 hours of departure and present a certificate of test issued by a medical institution. Please make sure to confirm the valid sampling type and testing method when performing the test. Throat Swab is not recognized as a type of sample.

The test certificate should contain the following information. Please use the format specified by the Japanese government (Japanese/English, Chinese) as much as possible for the test certificate. If you are unable to use the specified format, please fill out your own "inspection declaration form" in addition to the test certificate.

*Nucleic acid test certificate: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000799426.pdf

*Declaration of Examination: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100119502.pdf

(a) Name, date of birth

(b) Type of sample, test method (Only those types and methods that are specified in the format.)

(c) test results, sampling time, delivery date

(d) Name of medical institution

According to the survey, the medical institutions that can issue the test certificate in the specified format are currently listed below in the embassy's jurisdiction for travelers' reference. When making an appointment for testing, please be sure to inform that the purpose of the nucleic acid test is to travel to Japan. Also, when you receive the test certificate, be sure to check for incompleteness such as omissions or typographical errors.

Beijing]

- Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU) 010-5927-7332 (Japanese counterpart) 4008-919191 (24-hour appointment, Chinese/English)

- Raffles Clinic Beijing 010-6462-9054 (Japanese equivalent) 010-6462-9112 (Chinese/English)

- Beijing Sunfang International General Hospital (Sunfang Hospital) 185-1007-1968 (Japanese counterpart) 010-6413-6688

- China-Japan Friendship Hospital International Department 010-8420-5121

(Nucleic acid test results will be available the day after the test, so please obtain a fixed-format test certificate from China-Japan Friendship Hospital first. (After receiving the test certificate and being examined by a doctor with this test certificate, please ask the doctor to fill in the test results recorded on this test certificate into the format specified by the Japanese government.)

Tianjin]

- Tianjin Linocon Medical Testing Laboratory 159-0021-2757
Wuhan]

- Youkang International Clinic (inside Hubei Integrated Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine) 153-0712-3033 (Japanese/Chinese)

[Xi'an]

- Shaanxi Kyushu Medical Laboratory Co. 400-0560-963

3. "Fast Track"

In order to complete the quarantine procedures smoothly, the Japanese government recommends that all visitors use the "fast track" before entering Japan. In addition, all incoming passengers are welcome to use the "Visit Japan Web" website to complete quarantine, entry clearance and customs declaration procedures.

4. After entering Japan

Except for passengers with symptoms (suspected of having Newcastle Pneumonia), all passengers do not need to be tested and quarantined upon entry into Japan.

5. The Japanese government reminds

You cannot bring any meat products, vegetables or fruits into Japan.

6. The Japanese government recommends that

all foreign travelers to purchase medical insurance.