2-hour virus test to be available at Narita airport

So it's this fast now, good

40,000 yen for a test?! i'm desperate for an international getaway, but that seriously puts a crimp on my travel plans. i'll wait until the price goes down.

Travelers with an appointment can get tested and obtain a certificate for 39,800 yen, lower than the 46,500 yen charged for those without a reservation.

I was recently quoted a price of $220 for a test prior to departure from the U.S. I’m surprised to see Japan charging so much.

I'm surprised it has not been available earlier. This is the kind of proactive measures the economy needs.

BTW, it costs $NZD120 for a test (which includes doctor's consultation fee) if you don't qualify for a free one in New Zealand. Somebondy in Japan is making a killing at 40,000 Yen.

What a waste of money and resources. So you tested negative at the airport but those tests are not going to show if you caught the virus on the way to the airport or in the airport or after taking the test and walking around the airport through the check in process and to the aircraft. What about on the aircraft and during the flight?

Heathrow airport has started testing, results in one hour for a fee of 80 pounds or about ¥11,000.... Why the ¥40,000 Japan?

If they made them available for returning residents as well that would be something.

It is expensive... probably a bit prohibitive for a lot of us... but at the same time if a negative test might mean no quarantine at the other end then it is probably worth it at this time. It certainly would be for me. That would require quarantines to be lifted though... and I’m not sure which countries would be prepared to do that yet.

All fine as long as the lab provides proof of all necessary indicators to judge the quality of the tests. Too many places are not putting the necessary controls in place in order to save time and money with the testing and sensitivity ends up being much lower than necessary.

The price seems exaggerated but people that prepare with time there is no need to pay anything. Probably they are expecting to recover costs with the very few people that need to go overseas on an emergency and cannot be tested anywhere else.

40000 yen for a simple viral check?

Rip off Japan... !

Heathrow airport has started testing, results in one hour for a fee of 80 pounds or about ¥11,000.... Why the ¥40,000 Japan?

Because the Japanese test is accurate and the one in Heathrow is not.

U.K. Paid $20 Million for New Coronavirus Tests. They Didn’t Work.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/world/europe/coronavirus-antibody-test-uk.html

Heathrow airport has started testing, results in one hour for a fee of 80 pounds or about ¥11,000.... Why the ¥40,000 Japan?

And I bet Japan won't accept this from residents returning to Japan from Heathrow. Instead, I hear you have to go all the way to your nearest Japanese embassy and get their own form in person. You can't download it or use a copy. Fax machines too advanced in this case.

And 40,000 yen? Probably correlated to the price of Yubari melons.

All part of the plan to make sure it's difficult if not near-impossible for non-Japanese residents to return. They want to exempt Chinese tourists and businessmen from quarantine and yet Chinese nationals with long-term visas have to quarantine when returning. I see Japanese, tourists and businessmen are immune to the virus, unlike PRs.

I find it interesting that the usual crowd -who is always screaming TEST More!- are now complaining about the costs of the test.

Yeah, 40,000 is pricy, but its pretty convenient and certainly good for those who are desperate to travel.

i'm desperate for an international getaway, but that seriously puts a crimp on my travel plans. i'll wait until the price goes down.

@nakanoguy01

Guess you aren't that "desperate" then.

Yeah, desperate's the right word.

Even for a PCR test the price is very steep.

@virus. I agree the methodology needs to be validated. Also the laboratory should be accredited as well (I.e. ISO 15189). If the lab has that accreditation the cost may be justified but otherwise seems a bit high. However if I need to use it for business then I would not hesitate so maybe that is the target for their services

BTW, it costs $NZD120 for a test (which includes doctor's consultation fee) if you don't qualify for a free one in New Zealand.

If you are a NZ citizen/resident, then its free.

Cool. Too bad if departing from Haneda, eh. Also, will have to go probably like 6 hour early to be sure. Imagine the confusion and stress. Airports were already too stressful before the virus.

If traveling in an emergency, then perhaps will consider it. But for leisure?

Leave it to JAPAN Inc. to make a racket out of pandemic travel.

Test result may be credible, might not,

but you've paid that yen and got your sticker, then a stamped form,

you are literally good to go,

and JAPAN Inc. takes their percentage.

Pay to get a stamp, to buy a...

Where have we seen this before?

This is only for departing travelers who need a pcr test for their country of destination. If I go back to my home country, I won't need any, so this is not a concern. Anyway, many hospitals listed on the Health Ministry site are already providing that service. i.e get a test within 72hrs of departure. Do not know the price but it might be cheaper.

I hope Japan will not make returnees paying such a price.

@didou: FYI someone I know took the 72 hour PCR test and the cost was approximately 30,000. It was a clinic and not a hospital. I would imagine these will become easier to find and less expensive as time goes on.

I am trying to find places in the U.S. that could allow conformance with return requirements to Japan and it is pretty hard. My wife identified several from a Japanese website but all of them were not suitable as they were only available to people with a specific US based health insurance provider, or only available to residents of a certain city or county, or the opening hours and ability to get the signed test results in the 72 hour window was not possible. Where I am looking is near one of the main international airports serving Asia in the U.S.

In spite of the price Japan is at least doing better than my country of citizenship on this issue and having it at Narita is good.

¥40000...um...per person per test.

Test kit costs about ¥1000.

Staff test time about 5 minutes per test

staff test result printing and distribution about 5 mins per test.

Staff wage, ¥1000-1500 p/h

Premises rental/overheads about ¥2000 per hour

Anyone interested in joining me in a Startup business?

Don't know why the initiative taken by Son Masayoshi of softbank to offer PCR test for as little

as 2,000yen never gets a mention in the domestic media, don't think it was ever mentioned

here on JT. is it because it runs against the strong aversion for PCR testing in the country.

40,000yen for a test , well Japan is unique, unique prices as well.

for those who can read Japanese, this is the link below

https://www.softbank.jp/sbnews/entry/20200925_02

I hope Japan will not make returnees paying such a price.

My cousins family of four were charged NZ$13000 for their two weeks quarantine.

It's a sure way to bring back the hoards of tourist to Japan only the rich will pay that price.

Hopefully US airlines will offer a cheaper testing alternative in Japan.

In the US it's $100 -200 with some carriers, drug stores and free with medical insurance.

United and Hawaiian have tests available at some airports.

And a negative result would cost a flight ticket too. I'll stay put

40,000 yen for a test?! i'm desperate for an international getaway, but that seriously puts a crimp on my travel plans. i'll wait until the price goes down.

Easy testing is a moot point if there are few flights, and the routes that are still flying are horribly expensive.

As I have said for years, SERVICE in Japan is usually pretty good, but VALUE is NOT!!

This test is a prime example of poor value!

Just 2 hours? Good I can catch up on watching my movie..........

Moot point @Luddite - well, yes. But until borders are opened fully both ways, then flights AND testing will remain'' horribly'' expensive. You are against border relaxation for all business persons and tourists but demanded equal treatment for foreign residents , which was fair enough. When concessions were made from October you have constantly picked holes in the agreement . If you HAVE to travel to the UK then it really is VERY easy to get a test 72 hours prior to departure over there privately . I know of 5 people who have done it now with absolutely no issues at all on arrival back in Japan , AND have been out of Haneda within 2 hours of arriving after having been tested again.

I haven't noticed any price differences actually and in all fairness with 15-20 on board most flights to Europe right now they are all available on miles anyway.

My cousins family of four were charged NZ$13000 for their two weeks quarantine.

If they were residents or if they applied for a humanitarian exemption it would have been free. NZ only charges non-residents and for residents/citizens staying for less than 90 days.

I think there will be a lot of false positives. Besides please make this 2 hour test available at every single clinic in the whole entire Japan. Narita gets precedence only because the bureaucrats are hungry for international travel and opening boarders with China again where?

Japan is only interested in business, not opening up borders and travel.

Ticket prices home are double what they were this time last year due to the dearth of flights. Airlines won’t run routes if they have no passengers, people can’t travel if there are too many restrictions.

My cousins family of four were charged NZ$13000 for their two weeks quarantine.

In NZ the price is between $3000 and $4000 (don't know exact price) per individual but only for the first member of a family or group. The rest, provided they are staying together, should be paying no more than $1000 per person... about $950 I think it is. Around 90% of people have had all costs waived... basically only short term travelers have to pay. A test costing ¥40,000 would be much better value for me than having to quarantine.

A coronavirus testing center will open next month at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture, enabling departing travelers to obtain a certificate for a negative test result within two hours, the operators said Thursday.

Good thing they already know the outcome from the test. Why bother testing at all?

Or are they saying they will perform the test and actually put the results into the flier's data so they can't leave if positive?

Hard to tell from the story.