##**Moderator’s Note: As it has been confirmed that Olympic Tourists will not be allowed entry to Japan for the Olympic or Paralympic Games, we now anticipate there may be no further discussion by the Japanese Government on allowing Tourism and Travel to resume until after the Games have completed – October 2021 at the earliest.**
**UPDATED -**[**From Nikkei Asia – Japan to join EU and China in issuing digital vaccine passport.**](https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/COVID-vaccines/Japan-to-join-EU-and-China-in-issuing-digital-vaccine-passport)
Full Article Below:
>TOKYO — **Japan will issue digital health certificates to citizens who have been inoculated against coronavirus**, joining China, the European Union and other countries that have embraced vaccine passports aimed at opening up overseas travel, Nikkei has learned.
>The certificate can be managed on a mobile app and will be in line with international standards, allowing the carrier to present the proof of vaccination when boarding a plane or checking in to a hotel.
>International travel has been decimated by the pandemic, with air traffic down two-thirds last year and the tourism industry fairing even worse, and some see vaccine passports as a panacea to bring then industry back, although questions of fairness dog their use.
>The government is considering adding the certificate to an app that is set to be introduced next month that holds a digital certificate for a negative test result. The information will also be linked with a new system that tracks the progress of the government’s vaccination program.
>In addition to Japanese citizens who travel abroad, the app is also aimed at foreigners who are staying in Japan and returning to their home countries.
>The government is cautious about using vaccine passports for domestic travel. Norihisa Tamura, Japan’s health minister, said the documents can lead to discrimination and prejudice — a view also held by some legislators in the Diet. The government does not plan to use the vaccine passports for the “Go To Travel” campaign to stimulate tourism demand, even if the program is resumed.
>The EU is planning to launch vaccine certificates by summer. Visitors to the EU from Japan may be required to show their certificate when boarding an airplane. China launched its own version of a vaccine passport this month, although it still requires vaccinated travelers to quarantine after arriving in the mainland.
>In determining the standards for its certification, the Japanese government will refer to the EU certificates as well as the universal digital certificate “CommonPass” advocated by the World Economic Forum.
>Japan already issues a certificate in paper format. Those who have received a vaccine will be able to attach a vaccination certificate to a coupon issued by the local government for proof of inoculation.
**This will eventually be used to allow foreign tourists to store their proof of vaccination for entry to Japan – but no specific date on reopening has been decided. Currently, this is only going to be applied to citizens of Japan.**
>- [**From The Mainichi – Organizers decide to hold Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators due to pandemic.**](https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210320/p2g/00m/0sp/092000c) **The organizing bodies of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics formally decided Saturday that this summer’s games will be staged without overseas spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic.** The unprecedented decision was made by the heads of the organizers, including the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government, during a remote meeting that was held just four months before the rescheduled games are set to open in the Japanese capital. “It is very unfortunate, but seeing the current state of infections and what should be done to avoid causing strains on our medical system, it cannot be helped,” Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Japanese organizing committee, told a press conference. The organizers agreed to hold another meeting in April to set a direction on the issue of how many people will be permitted to watch athletes in the stands, but they will continue to monitor the situation in the country to be flexible in deciding the specifics. […] **The organizing committee will refund the purchasers of roughly 600,000 Olympic tickets and 30,000 Paralympic tickets already sold outside Japan.**
>- [**From Kyodo News – No spectators at opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympic torch relay.**](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/77ba7e8c23d5-no-spectators-at-opening-ceremony-of-tokyo-olympic-torch-relay.html) The Tokyo Games organizing committee said Monday the Olympic torch relay’s opening ceremony on March 25 will be held without spectators in the northeastern Fukushima Prefecture to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The ceremony at the J-Village soccer training center, which was a frontline base to manage the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, will only be attended by the event’s participants and invitees to avoid large crowds forming.
>- [**From Kyodo News – Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators.**](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/4f0072fe1b20-spectators-not-allowed-at-start-of-tokyo-olympic-torch-relay.html) **The government has concluded that welcoming fans from abroad is not possible given concerns among the Japanese public over the coronavirus and the fact that more contagious variants have been detected in many countries, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.** Japan continues to halt new entries of foreign nationals in principle as it is taking more time than initially expected for the government to stem the number of infections since early January, when it peaked at more than 2,500 cases per day in Tokyo.
>- [**From NHK News – No spectators likely at Olympic torch relay start.**](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210309_21/) Sources close to the organizers told NHK that they plan to keep the relay’s departure event closed to the general public. They want to avoid creating crowds and instead host the relay in a safe manner, with antivirus measures fully in place. The organizers are expected to announce the exact details of the event nearer the time, while closely monitoring the virus outbreak in Japan.
>- [**As per a meeting held on March 3rd by the JOC and IOC, Tokyo Olympic spectators may be limited to Japan residents only.**](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/071af62f56f5-heads-of-tokyo-games-organizers-to-discuss-timeline-on-spectators.html) **A firm decision on the matter will be made by March 25th, the beginning of the Torch Relay in Japan.**
>- [**Kyodo News posted an article on February 26th that indicates that the IOC and 4 other Tokyo Games organizers will meet on March 3 in regards to having spectators for the Olympic Games.**](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/02/79c41b016444-breaking-news-ioc-4-other-tokyo-games-organizers-to-hold-meeting-next-wed.html)
>- “Some officials said the organizers plan to make decisions in two phases, first concluding by March 25 whether to accept spectators from abroad before determining the number of fans allowed at venues. The meeting is expected to be attended by IOC President Thomas Bach, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, Tokyo Games organizing chief Seiko Hashimoto, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Japan’s Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa.”
**In February, a recent article by the Guardian divulged some of the information from the newly-released Olympic Playbook for controlling the spread of the virus during The Games. The article is linked below in the pinned comment, but of note:**
>- While a decision on whether to allow fans to attend is not expected for a few months, anyone watching the events will be told to refrain from singing or shouting and to show their support by applauding instead.
>- Athletes will be subject to testing a minimum of once every four days while they are in Tokyo.
>- All visitors will be required to present proof of a recent negative test upon arrival in Japan, but *vaccination will not be a condition of participating in the Games.*
>- Athletes and officials will not be permitted to use public transport without permission, must also wear face masks when appropriate, and practice social distancing. Exceptions will be made for when athletes are eating, sleeping or outside.
>- Athletes and officials will be banned from visiting bars, restaurants and tourist spots in Tokyo and will only be permitted to travel on official transport between the venues and their accommodations. The playbook warns them they could be ejected from the Games for serious or repeated violations of the rules.
>- [**An article posted by the Asahi Shimbun on January 8th theorizes that cancelling the Olympics is coming closer to a reality,**](http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14091366) **with these sections within the article holding particular interest:**
>- The event, which was postponed last year as the novel coronavirus pandemic spread, is scheduled to start within 200 days. However, the virus situation has since worsened in the Tokyo metropolitan area, prompting the government on Jan. 7 to declare a monthlong state of emergency for the capital and three surrounding prefectures. **“The Tokyo Olympics could be canceled if the state of emergency is not lifted by March,” an official of Tokyo’s organizing committee said.**
>- **At the end of March, the torch relay is scheduled to start from Fukushima Prefecture. Around the same time, a government-led panel is expected to decide on whether to restrict the number of spectators during the Olympic Games.** “Hosting the Games is anything but possible if you think of the people and medical personnel suffering from their difficult lives amid the pandemic,” an Olympic-related official said.
>- According to the BBC, **Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), said he could not be sure if the Tokyo Games would go ahead as rescheduled. “I can’t be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus,” Pound said, according to the BBC.**
In terms of travel to Japan this year for International Tourism, while strides are being made in tracking, testing, and tracing foreign entrants to the country, many variables will still have to be managed in order to allow full-scale entry as seen in years previous. The idea that vaccinations will be mandatory to reopen borders for tourism has been [rejected by IATA](https://www.iata.org/contentassets/5c8786230ff34e2da406c72a52030e95/vaccines-and-air-travel-position-paper.pdf) and some major airlines as bad for business, and is largely seen as discriminatory by Government agencies for future tourism. [New variants have also spread worldwide, thus weakening efforts to curb infection locally in many countries.](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/19/national/covid-19-immigration-facility/) This may also complicate the re-opening of borders to travel and tourism in 2021, and [Japan has indicated widespread vaccination of the local population will NOT be necessary to hold the Olympic Games in July.](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/19/national/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus-vaccine/)
**Feel free to discuss these topics within this thread, but note that *this thread is heavily monitored and will be curated to keep discussions on topic and civil*. Sidebar rules still apply, amid a few specific notes on these topics:**
>- Nobody knows for sure when the borders will reopen, but as a Mod team we are becoming comfortable with the possibility that it may not be this year. **For the sake of everyone, please refrain from asking if anyone knows when they will re-open for sure, if your trip is going to happen, or if being vaccinated will increase the likelihood of entry as a tourist this year. Nobody can tell you with any degree of certainty, and there has been no official word on vaccinated people being allowed to skip quarantine or being granted entry ahead of anyone else at this time.** If you decide to keep your trip as booked, that is entirely up to you, but **if you choose to cancel and have questions, please start with your airline** and work back from there.
>- **We do not have any answers here in regards to visas, waivers, or non-tourist entry.** [Our Megathread can redirect you to the subreddits that are most helpful on the those topics if needed.](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/ko0lv1/japan_travel_covid19_and_you_guidelines_on_travel/) **Questions regarding these topics will be removed and redirected.**
>- **Finally, there’s a fine line between being persistent, and being a troll. Comments that attempt to goad users into fights, or devolve into name calling will be removed and/or met with bans at Moderator discretion.**
Thank you!
34 comments
My gut feeling is that there will be no travel for 2021, and very cautiously restart by Spring 2022. Whether the Japan economy, so strongly dependent on tourism, can survive this plus the potential cancellation of Olympics, is another story.
It sounds like the Olympic committee and the Japanese government have decided the Olympics are going on. The public on the other hand do not want it to go on. I have no idea what is going to happen civilly but it might end with the the population viewing tourism negatively. Definitely won’t be good.
I had grand plans of going to a language school in Japan on a few one month trips until I knew the language. I did my first trip in the autumn of 2019. And as soon as I possibly can I will go back again.
But that does not mean that I will go back before it is safe, both for myself and for the people that I will inevitably will meet.
I might be hopeful about an autumn trip, if non-risk-group people can get the vaccine late spring/early summer, both in Europe and in Japan.
As for the Olympics, that is a hard no for me. If I had been super into sports, I might have gone if there had been no pandemic. But having gatherings of large groups of people at what I hope to be the tail end of a pandemic is a monumentally stupid thing to do, and I want nothing to do with it. If they go ahead with it without being 100% sure that the pandemic is over, I will avoid it like the plague that they are promoting.
I’m rescheduling my flights from April to October in the hope that I’ll be having a vaccine by the end of July, maybe that will be considered as an entry requirement for tourists so they don’t have to quarantine. But I’ll be waiting to hear what the Japanese government says about lifting the national emergency this week.
I’ll be more optimistic than others. Or maybe just a dreamer. That being said the case count in japan is down 80% this week compared with the peak in January, and first vaccines have arrived there. The Japanese government may indeed keep the doors shut, but there is a not an overwhelming increase in cases there.
Opinion polling gets brought up a lot by people trying to make the argument that “the Japanese people don’t want the games to happen” but there are some problems with this:
1. The polls actually show minority support for cancelling the games outright, since they provide respondents with the option of postponing the games again, which is something that we all know isn’t happening. We don’t know what the people who voted to postpone would say if they were forced to choose one of the other two options instead.
2. People are fickle and opinion polls can have dramatic swings when trends change. Even this month, polling support for holding the games this year is [up to 36%](https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-02-07/japanese-mostly-opposed-to-tokyo-olympics-this-summer-poll) compared to [27% in December](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/15/national/most-oppose-holding-olympics/). If the situation continues to approve then that number could easily be over 50% in a few months.
It sounds like we’re getting some official decisions about Olympics spectators this month and that should give us some clear indications of what the odds are of overseas tourism opening up by then. I’m holding onto my (fully refundable) July/August flight reservations at least until then.
Beyond the Olympics, I am personally of the opinion that things will be much better globally by the Fall and there’s a good chance we’ll be able to travel by then. “I’m just being realistic” is becoming a catchphrase for people who are clinging to their pessimism and ignoring the very promising vaccine situation. I could of course be wrong but I do think that some people need to start asking themselves if they’ve become addicted to bad news.
As always, **treat all booking as speculative and only book refundable tickets/accommodations until we know for sure**.
I really hope they’ll open up the country again for western tourists this year, but I realize it might not happen.
In any case, before doing any international traveling (esp this kind of distance) I want to get vaccinated myself first, which for my country looks like might happen in July or August (for people in my demographic).
After that Japan needs to open their borders, and I’d prefer if the Japanese government didn’t just did that because they want it, but because scientists tell them it is safe to do so. Mainly so that when they do open the country, they do it permanently and not have to reverse that decision again (which I’d hate if it happened just before I’d leave or while I was there).
I only pop in here occasionally to see the latest updates. Going to Japan has been number 1 on my list of things I’m looking forward to post-pandemic. My hopes had always been for late summer/fall of this year. I’m really shocked and disheartened to see many here speculating travel won’t open up until as late as 2022!
Even with all american adults currently predicted to be vaccinated during the summer (and the likely severe drop in cases that comes with it), you guys still think that the US won’t get added to Japan’s green list of countries? It must be a huge source of tourism and business relations.
I swear the second I’m allowed I’m gonna go sit in an onsen for 72 hours straight.
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My husband and I finally did it. We finally saved up enough to go to Japan for the first time in my life (second for him). It’s been a dream for 15 years. can’t wait for the borders to open. We’re shooting for early March 2022.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/03/10/national/tokyo-olympics-no-fans/
I think if this article is true, definitely no foreigners for normal tourism by the Olympics unfortunately. So I’ll be rescheduling to 2022 to be safe myself. Even after restrictions are lifted I wouldn’t want to be the first to go (was originally planning for Aug-Sept 2021).
Dam taking another L this year. Things don’t look good will probably have my tickets for nov canceled again.
Fwiw to everyone here – after the olympics news started to circulate a noticable chunk of award tickets got booked for Jan to Mar 2022. I think the consensus for other travelers is to punt the ball now and get ahead of the rush.
I do wonder how things will play out with the US promising to share extra vaccines with Japan(iirc). This could help stimulate a reopen.
Do you think there will be no tourism at all this summer ? And the whole year ?
Man. There are stupid cheap flights direct from where I am in the US. I have received a vaccination already. I just want to take my trip already! I’m even cautious about booking for January, the latest I can through air canada, as I’m super flexible on time but even by then I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go. I wish here in the US they had more proof of vaccination than a flimsy card. Would be much easier to open up I’d think if there was a better system of proof of vaccination?
Apparently, they still haven’t decided on whether to allow foreign tourists to the Olympics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQP2N0M5dvg&ab_channel=ANNnewsCH
I was in Tokyo NOV/2019 right before COVID broke out in Wuhan. I was hoping with the vaccines that Japan would be comfortable enough to open up in NOV/2021. Crazy how fast 2 years can go by.
My husband and I had to book emergency flights home after 3 days in Japan last March. We’re dying to finish our trip come this autumn – we were hoping that being vaccinated and getting a negative C-19 test would be enough to get us back. I hold on to that hope, despite the grim outlook in the comments here.
We’re all guessing and hoping here. I’m hoping for vaccinated travel to Hokkaido this winter 2021.
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We’ll know a lot more this month and next as to how they’ll handle Olympic visitors.
I really hope they resume the Residence track program… I’ve got my CoE and I’m waiting for them to allow visa applications.
I have 8 nights booked at the Conrad Tokyo followed by 3 nights at the Conrad Osaka for July. After this year my wife and I won’t have the free time available for a trip so large. Fingers crossed for opening! We are vaccinated and eager for travel!
My boyfriend needs to fix his Visa this year and I’m supposed to go with him to meet his family. I really hope they’ll allow w/ an International Vaccination Passport (WHO) policy after vaccination, but if not I guess there’s always the future.
Is March 2022 a safe bet? Starting to plan a family trip, and I’m a bit anxious.
Opinions?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Tokyo-2020-Olympics/Japan-to-exclude-overseas-spectators-from-Tokyo-Olympics
Was this already posted? Definitely no overseas tourism then until some time after Olympics.
Question here/advice requested, but I was hoping to go to Japan from July to August this year and already have (fully refundable, no penalty) plane tickets and two hotels booked. I’ve kind of been stuck in a waiting game to see whether or not I should continue to plan the trip or cancel my booking/refund my tickets. I got early bird prices on everything, so I don’t want to cancel if I don’t have to, and I can cancel up until 5 days before the trip starts, but idk if I should wait that long/plan on going. I mean I’m totally willing to, but am I just being naive and clutching at a pipe dream?
With foreign spectators barred from the Olympics, things are looking pretty hopeless for tourism during that time. When would be a good time to call it off, or should I give up now? I do have cousins living there, but I doubt that would count as one of the exemptions to visit. If I can’t go this year during this time, I doubt I’ll ever be able to go because of college and life stuff. It’ll just suck to miss out.
My son lives in Japan, and I’m not on the Koseki since his mom and I never married. This is depressing to hear considering I was just able to get the vaccine. Looks like I won’t be able to see him for another year. Yet I just heard from my cousin about someone who was able to enter as a religious missionary? I don’t even want to go to the olympics I just want to see my son.
Last year my exchange semester got canceled because of ye olde corona.. I took the plunge and decided to go for a master’s degree to have a chance to get an exchange year which was very needed for my language proficiency (i study japanology), I want to have a job later lol so I kinda needed this.
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But of course, I’m getting fucked yet again. I’m supposed to go to Kobe to study in October but my uni will not let me wait until that before the decide to screw me over.
Realistically speaking, what percentage do I have of having a miracle news saying Japan allows vaccined, visa holders, essential travelers into their country before october.. I know we don”t know but if you were to guess
Generally speaking, Japan is going to be a little / a lot more vaccine reluctant, even if they can easily provide it to everyone for free like Singapore and Dubai. The mindset is somewhat similar to how in the west we were super mask reluctant for quite a while and in some demographics still are.
While probably not appropriate for the Japan travel thread if you just want to travel to the region your odds are probably going to be better traveling to South Korea (less vaccine reluctant culture wise, kind of like in Israel… I suppose being on the brink of war / living close to an enemy makes you not worry as much about things like vaccine side effects).
Does this mean we are getting vaccine passports soon? https://www-travelandleisure-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/japan-citizen-vaccine-passport?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&=true&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16170796957745&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.travelandleisure.com%2Ftravel-news%2Fjapan-citizen-vaccine-passport
What are peoples thoughts with parts of Thailand being the first country in Asia opening up borders to vaccinated tourism by July and how Japan will follow?
Personally I feel Thailand may be forcing this timeline little too early, but I understand the reason behind as Phuket is a huge destination site that relies on tourism. But I wonder what will be Japans approach as we may start to see more countries open up borders soon. Keep in mind, Thailand and Japan are on opposite side of the spectrum. Thailand seems to take a more aggressive approach where as Japan is wait and see when it comes to tourism, vaccine, and covid. I think Japan will observe countries like Thailand and some European counties that are first to open, but even if things go smoothly, I really don’t think they’ll open up borders until 2022.
Coming from my co-worker in Tokyo, it seems like the government is not really able to do anything about this situation. Just last week, there were traffic jams to view cherry blossoms. People were wearing masks, but it seems like the general population doesn’t really care.
And honestly, it really isn’t that bad compared to other countries, but it’s their government that is really screwing the pooch here. I’m one of those waiting to enter with a work visa, so yeah.
I’m just lucky enough to have a job where I can work remotely as long as needed. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help my wife and I, since we haven’t seen each other for almost two years at this point. )