Hey guys,
My family is returning to Japan from Australia and we are planning to leave on the 25tth of November and were needing some PCR tests done for the 72hour negative requirement. I was just wondering if the standard Nasal swab is accepted and allowed instead of the Nasopharyngeal swab as we would much prefer it. Last time I traveled to Japan I had to do a Nasopharyngeal swab and it was absolutely awful. Very hard to find this information as the Japanese embassy site is extremely convoluted, some clarification would help.
5 comments
As long as you have 3 vaccinations you can arrive within the country, or else an international PCR test is recognized ([https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_5d_Z1KX7AhWLmWYCHVKoDGQYABACGgJzbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESauD2els7Z2838pq1T3WUpx7LjU2e7JtQETvr0GIIB4N9PeBkAz9nu4Lm6gdGaZaIzboPvL5NQGpAgARNH-xgilWlFVUJywwxgRfpkRRsZQ3Ei_WDa7sJGosOsWAi8j6TkXw1cQ_uOCHIfps&sig=AOD64_1GcJE1PFau2nArfuSek1Itkz75iA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiArNnZ1KX7AhVfGrcAHTO7B0MQ0Qx6BAgHEAE](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_5d_Z1KX7AhWLmWYCHVKoDGQYABACGgJzbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESauD2els7Z2838pq1T3WUpx7LjU2e7JtQETvr0GIIB4N9PeBkAz9nu4Lm6gdGaZaIzboPvL5NQGpAgARNH-xgilWlFVUJywwxgRfpkRRsZQ3Ei_WDa7sJGosOsWAi8j6TkXw1cQ_uOCHIfps&sig=AOD64_1GcJE1PFau2nArfuSek1Itkz75iA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiArNnZ1KX7AhVfGrcAHTO7B0MQ0Qx6BAgHEAE)[https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_5d_Z1KX7AhWLmWYCHVKoDGQYABACGgJzbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESauD2els7Z2838pq1T3WUpx7LjU2e7JtQETvr0GIIB4N9PeBkAz9nu4Lm6gdGaZaIzboPvL5NQGpAgARNH-xgilWlFVUJywwxgRfpkRRsZQ3Ei_WDa7sJGosOsWAi8j6TkXw1cQ_uOCHIfps&sig=AOD64_1GcJE1PFau2nArfuSek1Itkz75iA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiArNnZ1KX7AhVfGrcAHTO7B0MQ0Qx6BAgHEAE](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi_5d_Z1KX7AhWLmWYCHVKoDGQYABACGgJzbQ&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESauD2els7Z2838pq1T3WUpx7LjU2e7JtQETvr0GIIB4N9PeBkAz9nu4Lm6gdGaZaIzboPvL5NQGpAgARNH-xgilWlFVUJywwxgRfpkRRsZQ3Ei_WDa7sJGosOsWAi8j6TkXw1cQ_uOCHIfps&sig=AOD64_1GcJE1PFau2nArfuSek1Itkz75iA&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiArNnZ1KX7AhVfGrcAHTO7B0MQ0Qx6BAgHEAE)[australian travelers PCR test](https://travelclinic.svhm.org.au/))
this Australian embassy/Japan website can also help you ([here](https://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_ja/amendedentry.html))
If you are triple vax there is no need to do any testing.
go to the facebook group return to japan support group
Yes, nasal swab is fine now.
(Machine translation of the official page)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000121431_00248.html
Effective sample:
-Nose pharyngeal wipe liquid (Nasopharyngeal Swab)
-Nasal cavity wipe liquid (Nasal Swab)
-Saliva (Saliva)
-Mix of nose pharyngeal wipe liquid and pharyngeal wipe liquid (Nasopharyngeal and Oropharyngeal Swabs)
Also, the MHLW (government) form isn’t requited as long as required info is listed on your test report. (The form hasn’t been required for months now. Many of us entered without it.)
From the same page:
検査証明書の様式については特に指定はなく、任意のフォーマットでご用意いただけますが、以下の項目が日本語または英語で記載されている必要があります。
You need a nasopharyngeal pcr test. Go to the Japanese embassy website in their country of origin or the Washii D.C. Japanese embassy site. They will have all the info there.