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New app to allow travelers paperless entry into Japan

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"Combatting the virus" sure has been a golden opportunity for the increase of the bio-digital security state. All in the name of safety, of course! And if ya have any questions, you must be a selfish jerk! No, actually the opposite; I'm increasingly concerned we are losing our humanity to participate in this world ruled by the Machine.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Larr Flint

I don't have phone.

You too? That makes 2 of us in Tokyo, I think. Alas, the discrimination against the non-buyers of cellphone contracts with things like this app increases daily.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Wait- Japan allows visitors?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@vendingmachinemusic

You must certainly live a simple life thinking online is the answer for everything

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not in Japan it can’t

But having said that I have just received a QR code for entry into Nippon!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Why people travel overseas during this time and situation is beyond me.

Then come back knowing the rules, only to complain, and sometimes openly flaunt breaking the rules.

Everything today can be done online.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Am returning to Japan now and will have to go through all the hoops.

How about six days in a room not being able to exercise?

It is prison by another name!

I had a lucrative time in the UK and really don’t look forward to going back to Japan with its draconian measures and crap job opportunities as well as the knee jerking that is becoming so prevalent…

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

I wonder how secure the app is and how much information it will store. Name, passport number, address and so on. If a hacker gets that information, it could lead to identity theft. Japan does not have a good reputation for software security.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

By the year Japan starts letting foreigners in again, we wont be using smartphones and apps anymore (direct-to-brain devices or something). Japanese government might as well put their software on a CD-ROM.

(BTW, JapanToday does not allow me to abbreviate the word "Japanese government", its really into proper English.)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I don’t think I’ll need this for a while, Japan makes it too difficult for its expats. These restrictions are just too much. I had enough of discrimination and blatant racism which became clear with the arrival of the pandemic Left Japan and will not renew my visa, will only visit when need to for family reasons. All money moved out, don’t trust these people anymore

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Japan treats its so-called "permanent-residents" like temporarily visiting trash. After 13 years, I grew tired of it and the Covid foreign resident "lockout" last year was the last straw. I'm still a PR holder, but I moved my job and tax residency to Singapore in 2021. I'll never formally work in Japan again and they will miss out on millions of dollars in tax revenue if they hadn't made it so difficult to be a foreigner in their country. No hard feelings Japan, it's just business - and I as a high earning tax payer was just another customer you lost.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@Zaphod:

Nothing will happen to you, Life will just become increasingly inconvenient.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

Just came back from the states. Will that reduce the 6 hrs at the airport waiting for a covid test result? Highly doubt it.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

what kind of "travel" is that?

soo annying by my opinion.covid passes,tests,facemasks,anytime changing rules here and there and all in all-cost of travel snowballing fast without real enjoyment from travel.

to be short-i am not interested to "travel" in this atmosphere setting.better stay in Japan,take proper off,go to see places i have never visited and have proper break in some onsen .enjoy good food,good drink and time off.really enjoy without any abusing or annoying "rules".

4 ( +6 / -2 )

I simply hate the drive to make every aspect of life dependent on smartphone apps. What happens to those of us who do not want to buy a smartphone contract and do not want to be constantly thetered to those devices?

4 ( +9 / -5 )

@buchailldana safe trip! Actually the biggest stress comes from having just traveled somewhere else and the striking contrast of the different experiences. Which is probably why most Japanese who don’t ever go abroad (those who do have a totally different perspective) think the system is good and logical. But let’s say someone has gone through the 30 minutes plane-to-luggage QR-based airport controls for vaccinated travelers in France, or the 60 minutes plane-to-hotel for a one-day quarantine in Rwanda (yes, Africa, you know…) waiting for pcr test results that are then available online in 3 languages including via a QR code. Then that someone thinks 3 hours in Narita, going through 13 control stations, 75 different people and over 40 pages of printed documents given to you then taken back with 19 stamps, is surreal whatever the goal is.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

haha - as predicted this morning, the 'invasion of privacy' mob are out, slowing the rest our lives down with their paranoia

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

thank you to the people sharing their experiences of retuning.

I'm doing it next week and it seems so stressful.

Hopefully the new system helps.

Safe travels

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Corona or not, this is a great idea; more countries should adopt it.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

@ Larr Flint. You said you don’t have a phone. Well now when you enter Japan if you don’t have a smart phone they force you to rent one. You have to download certain apps for them to track you and contact you with. No choice

5 ( +7 / -2 )

"So, despite being a Permanent Resident, working in Japan, paying tax here, owning property here, having my family here, I have to go to the "Visit Japan Web" to return to my home. Yeah, can't wait to "visit".

This pandemic has made it perfectly clear that the Japanese government considers all non-Japanese people to be tourists, even those who have built their entire lives here."

I would say it would be naive enough to assume gaikokujin (foreigners) will be treated same as native Japanese irrespective of their resident status or years of stay or economic status in Japan.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Came to Thailand yesterday. Whole process was shockingly efficient. Was out of the airport in well under 30 mins, driven in private transport to the hotel I chose on my own, PCR done onsite and results first thing in the morning. Free to do whatever I want in the country now. Japan could really learn a lot from the Thais on this process. Seems to be working quite well. Not looking forward to my return in January at all, but hopefully they realize by then that Omicron is a big nothing burger and drop the hotel requirements (coming back from the US, currently sitting at 3 days)

5 ( +8 / -3 )

So, despite being a Permanent Resident, working in Japan, paying tax here, owning property here, having my family here, I have to go to the "Visit Japan Web" to return to my home. Yeah, can't wait to "visit".

This pandemic has made it perfectly clear that the Japanese government considers all non-Japanese people to be tourists, even those who have built their entire lives here.

yes its unfair.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

I remember the days when a fingerprint, was required for all residents, on their foreigner cards. People were outraged by this insinuation, an obvious invasion of privacy, and in time, it was abolished...

Now, we have digital invasion of privacy disguised as "convenience"...

SSDD.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I’m all for more digital entry procedures. There’s way too much forms and papers to be filled in. Why do permanent residents still need to fill in those pesky entry/exit forms? It’s beyond stupid and surely could be done all digitally. Then again, we’re just ‘tourists’ here. Sad, but true.

Just returned from Europe and am currently on my 4th day of forced 6 days hotel quarantine at a Villa Fontaine in central Tokyo. This is my third time returning during the pandemic. The previous two times was fairly ‘comfortable’ in terms of being able to quarantine at home for two weeks. This time around, the whole process is just totally over the top. It took 7 hours from stepping off the plane at Haneda to arriving in my hotel room; two hours of which were spent waiting in the bus in front of the hotel for ‘check-in.’ The hotel room is fine, but the cold bento food is really really crap. Brought my own food to survive. The lack of movement/exercise is really stressful. Besides having to report your health status twice on a hotel site and the official government MySOS app, you actually need to report in your location twice a day and respond to a video call once a day. This is so ridiculous. It’s not like I can actually skip out of my 10F room unnoticed and go anywhere. It’s literally like prison except your door isn’t locked. Since leaving Europe, I’ve undergone 3 Covid tests with a fourth one coming up in 2 days. And yes, I’m fully vaccinated. On my sixth day, after 4 negative Covid tests, I still will have another 8 days quarantine at home. I mean, I’m all for prevention measures and such, but this is beyond overkill. There were three US forces guys on my flight and they just went through customs and were greeted with hugs and kisses by quite a few folks in the arrival lobby; and then they all went their merry way. No hotel quarantine etc. I mean what’s the point of all of this?!?!

16 ( +17 / -1 )

I want to think positive but given my airport experiences I bet one of my family jewels, not both but one yes, that this will end up with the app just being in addition to the papers, because proof of negative test, vaccination (one day…), etc will still need to be printed and manually compared with the corresponding individual information (address, date of birth, tickets, etc.) on other papers to be signed.

And where will they put their 19 hankos - I counted 19 three months ago but it might be more now - if there is no paper?

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Having returned recently, anything they can do to reduce all the redundant paperwork and checkpoints will be a huge deal. I finally got out of all the covid checkpoints and got stopped right at immigration because my neg covid test form was missing. One of the checkpoints didn't return it to me. A worker had to run back and find it. It took 30mins. So from the time i landed and was able to get my luggage 3.5hrs. After that i was outside. I could of taken a cab or train if i wanted. Nobody there to stop me but, my wife was picking me up. The mySOS app i have never been nagged so much everyday for 2 weeks in my life lol.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Much easier to track foreigner travellers if they upload the apps.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Wouldn't be surprised if that "government app" you've downloaded in your tourist phone were still sending back location information to the government well after you've left the airport. Where are all these suspicious foreigners heading to, anyway, with their "foreign" diseases? Japan's been working so hard on developing their intrusive "quarantine app", and this seems just too good an opportunity to pass up. Because "science".

I'll stick to paper, thanks.

You have to install an app for that anyway. They monitor you for 2 weeks. This just makes the entry procedure a bit easier.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

"So, despite being a Permanent Resident, working in Japan, paying tax here, owning property here, having my family here, I have to go to the "Visit Japan Web" to return to my home. Yeah, can't wait to "visit".

This pandemic has made it perfectly clear that the Japanese government considers all non-Japanese people to be tourists, even those who have built their entire lives here."

Surely you are not just realising this for the 1st time??!!

2 ( +9 / -7 )

"I disagree. Better safe than sorry.

Part of the problem is fully vaccinated people acting irresponsibly because they think they are incapable of spreading the virus.

Even the CDC admitted they made a mistake when then dropped the recommendation for vaccinated people to wear masks.

Vaccinated people can be vectors of transmission."

No one ever said that vaccinated people couldn't pass on the virus, but we aren't the irresponsible ones. People who are unvaccinated for spurious reasons are the irresponsible ones......without which the virus would have a much lower chance of wild mutations because vaccinated peoples immune systems are primed to deal with it quicker, not giving it time to mutate.......masks, as ever, in unsymptomatic people are useless. But go ahead, wear your mask, call people irresponsible for being vaccinated and bask in the glow of your moral browbeating

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Now they Just have to open the borders .....

Yes when exactly will I be able to travel to Japan with my family?

My kids haven't seen their grandparents in over a year, but how many more years is it going to be?

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Now they Just have to open the borders .....

10 ( +13 / -3 )

"once you get into Japan you would not even know there is a pandemic"

Yeah, other than that 99,999% of everyone in the entire country over 3 is wearing a mask, even when sitting alone in parks, jogging, walking down otherwise empty streets or riding bicycles. Totally normal society! lol.

Wouldn't be surprised if that "government app" you've downloaded in your tourist phone were still sending back location information to the government well after you've left the airport. Where are all these suspicious foreigners heading to, anyway, with their "foreign" diseases? Japan's been working so hard on developing their intrusive "quarantine app", and this seems just too good an opportunity to pass up. Because "science".

I'll stick to paper, thanks.

6 ( +16 / -10 )

I just googled "Digital Agency" and got this tidbit,

"In order to alter such status quo, we at the Digital Agency cut across all ministries and agencies with a digital axis, with an aim to provide services that are driven not toward ministries, agencies, laws, or systems, but toward users and to improve user-experience."

The Visit Japan Web app will launch next Monday.

Looking forward to the Digital Axis.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Just making life easier for those wishing to comply with technology. Amazing the amount of people that of course right a reason to nit pick. Waiting for the 'invasion of privacy' posters as the day goes on.

-9 ( +7 / -16 )

It's worth it, once you get into Japan you would not even know there is a pandemic. Looking forward to going back in January.

-7 ( +8 / -15 )

There goes Kyodo spreading more fear through unsubstantiated information.

’able to evade immunity provided by vaccinations” is not accurate based on the most recent data from South Africa.

while there is a dip in efficacy, the vaccines do in fact still provide a certain level of protection against Omicron.

irresponsible journalism like this has made this situation worse than it needs to be.

15 ( +19 / -4 )

By 2023 robots will carry foreign visitors in an isolated capsule and deposit them directly in their quarantine hotel.

22 ( +26 / -4 )

Japan, unlike other countries, makes fully vaccinated people suffer a Toyoko Inn jail quarratine instead of letting them just go home.

This whiz bang app I would expect to be counter intuitive, like most things this idiotic government comes with.

-9 ( +24 / -33 )

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