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Gov't to cut quarantine to 3 days for business travelers, students from Monday

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‘Other visa holders’? Which ones? That’s quite important information.

15 ( +15 / -0 )

Why quote what the Japanese media has to say anyway ?

Boasting about Having comparably low virus deaths of only 18,000 sounds abit insensitive to those that perished due to poor handling of the pandemic by the Japanese government.

Make the virus top priority ?

What does that even mean ?

Is kishida making his own virus now ?

Protecting Japan from more virus infections is a top priority that we a supposed to really believe that ?

-2 ( +10 / -12 )

around 370,000 visa holders are waiting to enter the country and will be gradually let in.

There is still a cap of 3,500 people allowed to enter Japan per day total into all airports that are open for int'l travelers (Narita Haneda, Kansai).

So just the current waiting visa holders is a 100+ day backlog... over 3 months!... (assuming they completely fill the allowed capacity every single day).

But this does not account for any Japanese or PR who is returning from abroad (such as all those "business travelers" that are waiting to go abroad).

12 ( +13 / -1 )

Infections are spiking right now across Europe. This may be a mistake to ease travel restrictions just ahead of winter.

-7 ( +8 / -15 )

Wow, that's really scientific.

I mean, what a smart virus that knows the visa status of someone entering the country and can distinguish between a business traveler and a tourist.

21 ( +27 / -6 )

So, residents quarantine for 10 days, but people who don’t live here, but are students or business people 3 days? Who comes up with these policies? The village goat?

27 ( +28 / -1 )

Wow, that's really scientific.

I mean, what a smart virus that knows the visa status of someone entering the country and can distinguish between a business traveler and a tourist.

YEP!

Sad when a virus appears smarter than the people running the country right?

6 ( +13 / -7 )

So if I suddenly become a language teacher can I start a business and have my brother and friends sign up for my classes and come and visit?

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

So what visa will influencers and youtuber’s need fill out, asking for friend?

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Expansion of infection measures such as PCR test or isolation facilities in Japan with considering domestic "sixth wave" risk is slow and insufficient as ever.

But government prioritized demands from economy circle as same as immediate before third wave last year.

in this connection, New cases in neighbouring South Korea has increased despite higher vaccination rate than Japan.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Even the fully vaccinated can still contract and transmit the virus. The reason behind the government’s decision to ease entry restrictions is to bring in more cheap slave labor from other Asian countries.

10 ( +16 / -6 )

I'm not so familiar with different types of visas but isn't it possible for people to claim to be business travelers, get a visa, quarantine for three days and then just take off sightseeing?

2 ( +8 / -6 )

Japan trying to make it easier for foreign workers and students. 2 days ago in a previous article you complain how bad Japan was for not doing better..... here is your answer!

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

This is really great news for all the separated families out there, like mine was. There was a strict no visas for families unless it was a life/death situation or medical necessity, and the paperwork was enormous. I think when we finally counted it all up, the paperwork we submitted was about 153 pages. It's great that these families can put their lives back together again, it has been horrible these 2 years for everyone. The stories are just heartbreaking.

This is also great new for students who were planning to and paid to study abroad in Japan. I have quite a few students who are stuck in their countries but doing all their classwork and Zoom from there. It will be so nice for them to finally get the real Japan experience they dreamed of.

This is such happy news for so many people!

1 ( +7 / -6 )

@ letsberealistic. Returning Japanese citizens and residents must quarantine for 14 days. This can be reduced to 10 days if you take a test and are negative following the rules of the app you must download when you enter

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

qaswax:

Returning Japanese citizens and residents must quarantine for 14 days. This can be reduced to 10 days if you take a test and are negative following the rules of the app you must download when you enter

You have got to be kidding me??!!!! Businessmen and others with far less interest or ties to Japan than foreign residents and even Japanese citizens are somehow less prone to spreading the virus?!!!

First, it was discrimination in favour of Japanese citizens. Now, it's discrimination against Japanese citizens????!!!! Can someone confirm this? This makes no sense. But then again, we're talking about Japan.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

If they are fully vaccinated and test negative there should be no quarantine at all.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

If they are fully vaccinated and test negative there should be no quarantine at all.

And they should be allowed on public transport. I do not want to pay over 20,000 yen again for a car ride that lasts less than an hour, no matter how good the service is. Ironic, seeing that the vast majority of people taking public transport have not been tested for the virus.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Doesn’t make any sense. COVID doesn’t care what is your travel status.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Love the speculation on this thread. The new rules haven't even been published anywhere as yet in detail. MOFA haven't updated their page as yet.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Who comes up with these policies? The village goat?

The LDP. So pretty much the same thing

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Doesn't cover US as Residents leaving on a 'business trip'

3 ( +4 / -1 )

So if I suddenly become a language teacher can I start a business and have my brother and friends sign up for my classes and come and visit?

Well, you can’t start a business with a teacher’s visa.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

So that's it, then. If just 3 days are perfectly fine for "business" travelers and "students'? That's fine for me as well.

I followed the 14 day rule when everyone had to do it. (Most people I know didn't). But this discriminatory preference of certain groups over others, absolutely indefensible in any relation to what the "science" says, means that 3 days is all they're going to get from me.

Day 4 and I remove the tracking devices from my phone in December unless they change these stupid, stupid rules. Why should I do anything more than "business" and "student" travelers? (There is NO scientific answer to this.)

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Everybody relax. Wait for this page to update, it's been consistent, if a little complicated throughout these difficult times and has provided every link to every bit of paperwork you need.

https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html

I'm assuming that most of us here are not concerned entering the country on a new COE.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

The new system is too complicated that it is just not sustainable. I hope they scrap this paper-waster soon and relax the quarantine requirements for all vaccinated travellers.

First, they have to say that they have not relaxed the quarantine requirements in principle. It remains 10-day, if shortest, for all vaccinated incoming travellers, Japanese or non-Japanese, business or non-business.

If you have a corporate sponsor, your sponsor (not you) can apply for a permit that let you move out of the designated premises for your quarantine after Day 3.

To obtain the permit, your corporate sponsor has to apply for it to the sponsor's "governing ministry" (If it is a bank, MoF. If it is a university, MEXT. etc.) and the permit needs to be granted before your travel to Japan. Even if the permit is granted, my SOS will monitor your whereabouts even after Day 3, and basically, you cannot use public transport until Day 10. After Day 10, your sponsor has to submit a concluding report to the governing ministry.

https://corona.go.jp/news/pdf/jimu_flow_image_20211105.pdf

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@JustAsking: one of us a National and the other Permanent resident. We can open up any business we please.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

This is a good time to allow these people into Japan with the 6th wave just around the corner.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

What I find stranger is that a lot of YouTubers who are foreign and not PRs seem to be able to travel quite freely in and out . Not sure how that works …..

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Thinking with their wallets as ever. The virus doesn’t care if your doing business or not. dmf’s.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Yeah what happened to “the science”?

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Yeah what happened to “the science?

Good question for a Google search.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This is basically the old ´business track’, nothing to do with most Japanese nationals and residents who will continue to quarantine 10-14 days despite vaccinations and 2-3 pcr tests.

The logic is that the activities of these people will be limited to a trackable record of hotel-company-restaurant-soapland visits by private transport. All guaranteed by the inviting company.

And for the foreign students and researchers, government counts on the fact that their sponsoring institutions will not take advantage of the 3-days regulation and will actually lock them in for 15 days with even stricter conditions, like the Japan Foundation did, so to avoid any risks of being held responsible.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

As always, selfish Japan.

Me me me me me.

And no humility towards other nations at all.

Agreed.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

3 day quarantine is NOT applicable for students! 14 days with the possibility to shorten it to 10 days with a PCR test on the 9th day of quarantine.

Not that it matters, since 85% of valid COE holders can’t enter before January anyway. What a joke this country and its border policy has become.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

@Hito Bito. I totally agree that it’s idiotic to have different quarantine policies for these business people as opposed to residents.

However if you are serious about removing the tracking devices from your phone, just know another set of different policies exist.

Those of us who are foreigners can have our visas revoked as punishment. Japanese citizens can have their names printed in a newspaper as punishment.

I for one don’t want to have my PR revoked so I will have no choice but to quarantine at home for at least 10 days in December.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Nothing happened to the science @Blacklabel - None of this applicable to you anyway. Stop making sly comments just because you refuse the vaccine.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

From Monday, business visitors fully inoculated with an authorised vaccine will need to quarantine for only three days, down from a minimum of 10 days, the foreign ministry said.

Title is misleading, only short term business visitors will be allowed to quarantine for 3 days, others regular periods

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Infections are spiking right now across Europe. This may be a mistake to ease travel restrictions just ahead of winter.

Yes they are and if you read the newspapers, those infected are primarily unvaccinated. Just like here in the US. Just been to Turkey and Greece and a negative PCR test and a vaccination card is all that is required to enter. However vaccination cards are often required to enter certain facilities. Japan's policy have shades of the anti foreign element.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is moronic.

So business travelers etc will only need to quarantine for 3 days. Returning residents get 10 days . . . .

Surely the same rules should apply for everyone based on health risks, not the monney they bring in.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is just corporations flexing their financial power. Nothing changes for the average person.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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