Photo: Markus Winkler/UnsplashUndated stock photo of Haneda Airport

Explained: Japan’s three categories for international entry from June

Travellers and tourists from certain destinations will be exempt from on-arrival testing and quarantine measures

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Friday 27 May 2022

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Japan’s tight border restrictions are constantly changing, especially as the country has reopened to tourists from June. Entry rules were eased further from Wednesday June 1, including raising the entry cap and exempting some people from testing on arrival and quarantine rules – depending on the country or region they are coming from.

Note that currently, tourists are only allowed to enter Japan as part of officially organised package tours. There is no date for resuming general tourism just yet.

To be exempt from arrival testing and quarantine procedures, countries and regions will be divided into three groups depending on their current Covid-19 situation: blue, yellow or red.

Under the new grouping system, travellers from areas with the lowest infection rate will be designated as blue and will be exempt from arrival testing and quarantine – regardless of vaccination status. Areas designated as yellow will be exempt from arrival testing and quarantine if they have a vaccination certificate. However, on-arrival testing and quarantine still applies to those who cannot provide a valid vaccination certificate. Countries and regions designated as red will still be required to do an arrival PCR test and self-isolate.

It’s also worth noting that travellers from all three groups must still present a negative PCR test taken up to 72 hours prior to their departure for Japan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has shared the full list of countries and regions by category. Here is the breakdown: