Japan cuts quarantine to 3 days, reopens to foreign students and business travellers

Earlier this week, it was announced that Japan could start easing its entry ban on foreign travellers from the beginning of March. As reported by The Japan Times, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed the news by stating that Japan will open up its borders to foreign students and business travellers from Tuesday March 1. A press release on the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet website provided more information on the new border control measures.

Here are the key details you need to know:

Quarantine

• In principle, a seven-day quarantine still applies to all overseas arrivals. However, if the person is tested negative on the third day, self-isolation will no longer be required
• A three-day quarantine at a government-designated facility still applies to travellers coming from high-risk countries and regions dealing with the Omicron variant
• People who have completed three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine may quarantine for three days at home instead of a government-designated facility – even if they are arriving from a designated high-risk country or region
• People who have received a Covid-19 booster dose and are arriving from non-designated regions are exempted from quarantine entirely
• The use of public transport from the airport to the place of quarantine within 24 hours of the on-arrival PCR test is now allowed

New entry

• The daily cap on entrants into Japan has been increased from 3,500 to 5,000 people
• The relaxed rules do not include opening for tourists
• However, people will be allowed into the country for purposes other than tourism, including business travellers and foreign students 

Unfortunately, the country will remain closed off to tourists for now. 

This post was originally published on February 17 and updated on February 18.

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