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Japan to make COVID-19 questionnaires for travelers available online

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After arrival, they have to stay in self-isolation for 14 days and avoid using public transportation during the period.

And if they are in isolation, why would anyone be using public transportation in the first place?

Oh right, "honor system" trust all the travelers coming here to follow the guidelines without having anyone check up on them!

8 ( +9 / -1 )

2 weeks quarantine this side, 2 weeks that side and maybe a week of being able to move freely in between?

Who can take a 5 week holiday from work?

Basically, it is a travel ban in all but name...

8 ( +8 / -0 )

@SZPflyer let me give you an idea about all arrangement which is not hassle free.

First, 4h drive both way to get Confirmation Letter from the Embassy (probably it has been abolished now)

Times when one would just buy a ticket and fly is over. If one don't have a place in Tokyo like us, there is additional cost. Me and my J wife did a lot of research and made many phone calls to Japan.

Here we are:

We have booked a car from rental company (lucky my JDL is still valid) JPY10,000 (with drop off place in Tokyo). If you hire a driver it will cost you JPY25,000-30,000 which is crazy !

If you have someone to pick you up, it's acceptable.

I had to find hotel that accept returnees for self isolation (we are not from Tokyo). Cost JPY100,000 for 14 days. It can be cancelled without penalty if PCR test at Narita comes positive.

Bear in mind that if you do have own place, you can stay at your own home. You just need to get there at some point.

72h prior to flight my PCR test 150euro (result (certificate) sent by email the same day in the evening).

It is interesting that Japanese nationals even though we live, travel and stay together don't need any test. It's ridiculous and make no sense. The good thing about it is that we can spend 150euro for something more enjoyable in Japan. (no isakayas or events)

On Japanese Embassies websites they point in RED that J Nationals don't need any PCR proof. I don't know, but the reason might be that Japanese have rights to return to own country and if the test is positive they risk to be stuck abroad like us. So even infected they can fly as they please. When comes to us, we can be stuck wherever we want, nobody cares if you have family in Japan or not, just stay away from the country which "control" virus very well. (2000-5000 tests daily in 14mln Tokyo versus 40,000/day European country with the same number of residents).

Airlines have own questionnaire that must be filled in and handed before boarding the plane.

So as a re-entrants one have to show before boarding:

Confirmation Letter (might be unnecessary anymore) and PCR result certificate

Airline Questionnaire (this is all what Japanese will have to do before boarding. Easy to tick all boxes with "No" answer. Means healthy) And now we will all have another questionnaire in the plane. (I assume Japanese Nationals are high risk). The good news is that due to restrictions on tourists planes are empty these days.

=======

At Narita another test and then eventually allowed in, but...don't forget photo and being fingerprinted too. They continue doing it because they don't care who touched before you. You might be potential criminal after all. Have a gel and clean device before you put your fingers on it? :)

Good luck

7 ( +7 / -0 )

With a permanent resident visa and current re-entry permit, I left Japan late last November to assist an ailing parent living in a remote corner of the States, and have been stuck there ever since. I hadn't planned to be away from my Japanese spouse and family for nearly so long, but the virus changed everything.

Tragicomical is the only way I can describe what the Japanese government has done to its permanent residents. Currently, amongst other requirements as I understand it, returning permanent residents must:

produce a negative Covid-19 PRC report for a prescribed PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure

produce a letter from a Japanese Consulate confirming that they have a right to enter Japan

not take a bus, train, or taxi from the Japanese point of entry

upon arrival, self-quarantine for 14 days

Regarding transportation from the point of entry, in an FAQ the government offers this gem under the following link (approximate English translation follows):

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/covid19_qa_kanrenkigyou_00001.html#Q4-2

4 移動手段について

問1 対象となった者は、空港等から待機場所の自宅(又は宿泊施設等)までどのように移動すればいいですか。

空港から自宅までの交通手段(自家用車、レンタカー等)をご自身で確保していただくようお願いしています。電車、バス、タクシー、航空機(国内線)、旅客船などの公共交通機関を使用しないよう、強く要請しています。

問2 移動手段が確保できない場合、どうすれば良いですか。

 万が一用意できていない場合、ご自身で空港周辺の宿泊施設等を確保して、そこで待機いただくことになります。なるべく出国前に移動手段を確保していただきますようお願いします。

4 About transportation

Question 1. How should the target person move from the airport, etc. to his / her home (or accommodation facility, etc.) in the waiting area?

We ask that you secure your own means of transportation from the airport to your home (private car, rental car, etc.). We urge you not to use public transportation such as trains, buses, taxis, aircraft (domestic flights) and passenger ships.

Question 2. What should I do if I cannot secure a means of transportation?

If you do not have it ready, you will have to secure accommodations around the airport and wait there. Please secure a means of transportation before leaving Japan as much as possible.

As onerous as procuring the required documents would be for someone in my position, six hours away from the nearest Japanese Consulate and a medical facility [possibly] capable of producing a timely test result, the prohibition against using public transportation ought to be seen for what it is: the ultimate barrier to keeping foreigners out. How are we supposed to get home? Walk?

Where is Commodore Perry when we need him?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

@SZPflyer

Yup, completely agree. Those rejoicing over the "eased" of entry restrictions haven't perhaps realised yet what a smoke screen it really still is...i.e. how difficult and costly it still is to try to re-enter Japan (i.e., come home).

These limits and requirements are inhibiting me from temporarily travelling back home to see my family as well, especially my ageing parents. Haven't seen them for a year and half now, and will probably miss another Christmas (hugely important for us, and a magical time to be back home) with them.

The cost of getting the required PCR test, the letter from the embassy, and the private transport in Japan (=hired driver and car, as I don't have a driver's license, me & my spouse don't have a car) will easily add around 650 euro / 80,000yen on top of the flight ticket (which is around 900 euro / 110,000 yen), and even then there is a risk that you'll be turned away at the airport when you're trying to return home to Japan and sent back, meaning you'd have to fork out money to pay for that deportation flight as well. I simply can not afford it.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

@Bo - I just wish they had not imposed the 14 day quarantine for all , if tested negative what's the point?

The point is the 14 day incubation of the virus. Just because someone tests negative does not mean they are not carrying the virus.

I'm curious about how many languages this questionnaire is produced in.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

But a traveller might not even know that he/she is a carrier...

So, they test and quarantine upon arrival. Know of a safer way?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Good. Hate filling in forms written in tiny writing when drunk or extremely fatigued. Finding a pen, my documents in the overhead locker.

bad point is in my experience, they never actually check the forms, just pass you through.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

kurisupisu - 2 weeks quarantine this side, 2 weeks that side and maybe a week of being able to move freely in between?

I don’t know about Japan, but you have to pay for your two weeks quarantine when entering Australia, which runs out to about 3 grand.

However, quarantine is not self-isolation. They are two entirely different things and should not be confused.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"After arrival, they have to stay in self-isolation for 14 days and avoid using public transportation during the period."

I hope this same period is imposed on Japanese travellers overseas (or likewise non-Japanese leaving Japan). I don't know any Japanese people who travel for that long beyond the purposes of living/working/studying abroad, the exception being students. Foreigners COMING to Japan have a slightly better position, since many backpack for long periods of time, or have extended holidays from work, etc. I can't think of many people who are going to travel to Japan for more than two weeks and are willing to spend most of that time in quarantine, and at the rate hotels around airports charge? Why not just flush 5 grand or more down the toilet? At least you can do that and still walk around pretty freely at home.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Travel to another country is kind of hard time in departure and arriving both airports. Being tested negative and have to stay in self-isolation for 14 day? I wish all countries destination (immigration bureau) for the tourists of 90 days to extend to 104 days the 2 weeks of isolation.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

In China, you're carted off to a hotel (not of your Choice) and have to pay exuberant rates for 14 days with the poorest of service... not worth going there on a Tourist visa.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

We'll see. I think I'll put it to the test. From Victoria, BC. Need to see new babies, good young friends, and old 'family'. We'll see.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The following is information provided to me in an email from the Japan Consulate-General of Seattle, as of October 1. 

And yes, the re-entry confirmation letter from a Japanese consulate or embassy is still required as of this writing.

Statement from the consulate:

Please apply for a "re-entry confirmation letter" at the consulate.

The documents required for application are as follows.

Please email the following documents as a pdf.

1) Passport

2) Departure date stamp page

3) Front and back of stapled ED card

4) Re-entry Permit Stamp Page (if you have permission)

5) Residence card (front and back)

6) Self-quarantine and pickup information(see below A and B, and make statement for #6)

7) filled Application form

 

A) How to get from the arrival airport to the self-quarantine site

 a. Have someone pick you up at the arrival airport by car

 b. Book a rental car to drive by yourself

 c. Reserve a taxi or hire with COVID-19 measures

B) Information on the location of self-quarantine

 a. Home in Japan

 b. Accommodation provided by the host

 c. Hotel near the airport

 

After reviewing the materials from you, we will inform you of the next steps if you can re-enter.

 

Attention 1

After entered Japan, a 14-day self-quarantine period is required.

The location can be your home in Japan or a hotel near the airport.

After the 14-day self-quarantine is over, you can use public transportation such as domestic flights and trains.

 

Attention 2

Be sure to obtain a COVID-19 pre-departure inspection certificate.

Please read the attached file carefully for details.

[attached files in email from the consulate:

再入国関連書類提出確認書交付申請書 APPLICATION FORM FOR LETTER OF CONFIRMATION OF SUBMITTING REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION FOR RE-ENTRY INTO JAPAN

COVID-19に関する検査証明 Certificate of Testing for COVID-19

form COVID-19 test Instruction [AKA “pre-departure Certificate of Testing for COVID-19”) from a medical facility]]
0 ( +0 / -0 )

I welcome the decision to open up, as the world really needs to get back to normal (being tested positive is not a death sentence) I just wish they had not imposed the 14 day quarantine for all , if tested negative what's the point?

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

But a traveller might not even know that he/she is a carrier...

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

The letter required from the Consulate abroad before traveling has ceased. The Negative Test before departure is a requisite for us foreigners wishing to return yes. To those who were stuck before the ban was imposed. Very unfair.

To those who wish to travel now and re-enter, forewarned is forearmed. I know people who have travelled now. Send your email to Immigration to gain your re-entry in advance with your itinerary. Find a private testing centre at your destination BEFORE you leave to arrange for the test in good time and pay the extra for the result to be delivered and stamped to your downloaded form in time. Yes - it may be expensive, but if you MUST travel then so be it.

Taxi companies here ARE offering one way trips to your home or place of quarantine from Narita and Haneda if booked in advance - or hire a car. Jesus, Why so many complaints. Have you looked at the horror show of infection in other countries? I don't think all of this is fair, far from it. But you chose to live in Japan, abide by he rules. Tired of the whingeing here about EVERYTHING, even when they do relax the rules. It's never enough for most of you, is it? One way ticket home could be the answer.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

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