Currently, more than 50% of people in the U.S. have taken at least one COVID-19 vaccine, and President Biden seems to be targeting that 70% of those 18 and older will receive at least one vaccine by Independence Day on July 4, 2021.
In Japan, the vaccination rate has not progressed as much as in the United States, but I hope that the plan will proceed smoothly so that we can return to our original lives as soon as possible.
Personally, I think it is too early to travel internationally for sightseeing purposes at this time, but I think that there may be cases where it is necessary to return to Japan in a certain circumstance.
Indeed, I temporarily returned to Japan in the beginning of 2021 in order to renew my U.S. visa.
In this article, I will introduce the points to note when visiting Japan, including my actual experience.
- Border Enforcement Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Effective as of June 1, 2021
- Areas Subject to the Border Enforcement Measures
- Mandatory Submission of Certificate of Negative Test Result
- Submit Questionnaires
- Quarantine at the Airport
- Submission of Pledges
- Install the Apps on Your Phone
- Wait at Accommodation Secured by Quarantine Station
- Transportation
- Wait at Home or Hotel
- Contact Information for Strengthening Quarantine
- Summary
Border Enforcement Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Effective as of June 1, 2021
Areas Subject to the Border Enforcement Measures
As a result of the new border enforcement measures announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 1, 2021, additional measures will be taken to the following areas:
- Afghanistan
- Viet Nam
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- United States (Iowa, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, New York, Nevada, Nebraska, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island)
- Germany
Those residing or staying in the above states in the United States who enter Japan after midnight on Friday, June 4, 2021 Japan time (including Japanese nationals) are now required to wait for three days at a location designated by the Japanese quarantine station director (accommodation secured by the quarantine station) at the time of entry, regardless of the purpose of entry.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if you are tested as negative on the third day of waiting, you can leave from the accommodation facility and wait at home or hotel for the remaining 14 days after entering Japan.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000787220.pdf
Mandatory Submission of Certificate of Negative Test Result
If you are returning or entering Japan from overseas, all persons (regardless of nationality) regardless of the country of stay and region where you are from are required to submit a certificate of negative test result for COVID-19 that has been tested within 72 hours before leaving your country of stay.
At present, those who cannot submit the certificate do not seem to be allowed to land in Japan even if they are Japanese nationals.
As for the test certification, in principle, the following prescribed formats are submitted, but if there is no medical institution corresponding to the format, any format is also possible.
If you use any format, all of the following items must be listed in English, as in the prescribed format.
- Name, passport number, nationality, date of birth, gender
- Covid-19 test certification contents (test method (only for samples and test methods described in the prescribed format), test results, sample collection date and time, date of examination result decision date, date and month of issuance of test certification)
- Information on medical institutions ,etc. (1: name of medical institution (or doctor name), 2: medical institution address, 3: medical institution seal (or signature of doctor))
The tests specified in the test certification are one of the samples and test methods described below.
- Samples collected
- Nasopharyngeal (Shab/Swear)/ Nasopharynx
- Saliva
- Inspection method
- Nucleus acid amplification test (RT-PCR)
- Nucleus acid amplification test (LAMP)
- Nucleus acid amplification test (TMA)
- Nucleus acid amplification test (TRC)
- Nucleus acid amplification test (Smart Amp)
- Nucleus acid amplification test (NEAR)
- Next generation sequence
- Quantitative antigen test (CLEIA)
For example, if the test certificate says “Nasal and throat swab” or “Antigen (test/kit)”, the test certificate will be invalid since they are not valid specimens or test methods, so please be careful.
If your flight is cancelled or significantly delayed on the day of departure which results that you get to Japan after the 72 hours period, you do not need to obtain a certificate again if the changed flight is within 96 hours of the sample collection date and time.
In addition, if the certificate is not written in English or Japanese, it seems to be basically invalid, but if the translation of the certificate is attached and the contents of the certificate can be determined, it seems to be considered valid.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100178702.pdf
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000770638.pdf
Submit Questionnaires
In order to follow up on your health for 14 days after entering Japan, in addition to personal information such as date of birth, you need to fill in contact information such as email address, telephone number, address in Japan, and information about your physical condition on the web questionnaire.
Once the questionnaire is answered, a QR code will be issued, so you can save it by screenshot or print the screen and present it during airport quarantine.
If you make a false declaration, you will be fined up to 6 months in prison or 500,000 yen, so be sure to answer honestly.
Quarantine at the Airport
When you arrive at the airport in Japan, you will be guided to the quarantine station in the airport, where you will be inspected for COVID-19.
In my case, the saliva test was carried out, but I remember that I had to put a certain amount of saliva in the cylinder and it was quite a hard time.
I remember that there was a picture of lemon in the inspection place so that saliva could easily come out.
After the above procedure, you will be taken to the waiting room where you will wait until the inspection is complete.
I think that it is greatly influenced by the condition of the crowded on the day, but in my case, the inspection result came out within 30 minutes.
Submission of Pledges
All visitors to Japan will be asked to submit a written pledge, pledging not to use public transportation for 14 days at the time of entry, waiting at home or accommodation for 14 days, storing location information, responding to requests from public health centers, and installing a contact confirmation app.
If you do not respond to the submission of the pledge, you will be required to wait 14 days at the location designated by the quarantine station director.
If you violate the pledge, you may be subject to the suspended quarantine law, and you will be:
- For Japanese, names and information that contributes to the prevention of the spread of infection may be made public.
- For residence status holders, information that contributes to the prevention of name, nationality, and spread of infection may be made public, and may be subject to procedures for revoking status of residence and deportation procedures.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000779619.pdf
Install the Apps on Your Phone
In order to implement the pledges, it is necessary to have a smartphone that can use the application required in the pledge.
If you do not have a smartphone that can use the necessary apps during quarantine procedures, you will need to rent your smartphone at the airport at your own expense before entering the country.
There are several apps that need to be installed, such as OEL which is location confirmation app, MySOS which is video call app, and COCOA which is a COVID-19 contact confirmation app.
Wait at Accommodation Secured by Quarantine Station
If you are entering Japan from a specific region, including the United States, you will need to wait for a certain period of time at the accommodations secured by the quarantine station even if the COVID-19 test at the airport is negative.
If you are entering from the United States, you will be required to wait 3 days at the accommodations secured by the quarantine station after entering Japan.
If the COVID-19 test performed again on the third day of waiting (not including the date of entry) is negative, you can leave the accommodation facility and wait at home or a hotel for the remaining 14 days after entering Japan.
Transportation
Public transportation, such as trains, buses, taxis, aircraft (domestic flights) and passenger ships cannot be used until the quarantine period of 14 days after entry is met.
Therefore, if you are traveling from an airport or quarantine station-secured accommodation to your home or hotel, you must travel by private car or rental car or use a hire company that meets the criteria set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The following website introduces hire companies that meet the standards set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Wait at Home or Hotel
For 14 days after entering Japan (calculated from the day after the date of entry), you will need to wait at home or a hotel, as pledged.
While waiting, in addition to refraining from contacting others without going out, you need to report your location in the location app OEL every day and report your health via email or website.
In addition, from time to time, there is confirmation of the location from the visitor health confirmation center through mySOS of the video calling app, so if you receive a video call, you need to answer it.
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000752493.pdf
Contact Information for Strengthening Quarantine
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare New Coronavirus Infection Consultation Desk
From Japan: 0120-565-653
From Overseas: +81-3-3595-2176 (available in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean)
Summary
This article is written based on the measures taken on June 1, 2021, but as long as there are changes, I will update the article and tell you the latest information.
During the two-week wait, physical and mental stress accumulates more than you think, so it is important not only to be aware of the COVID-19 but also to deal with stress well.
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