Japan has disappointed many people who love Japan and have a potential to like Japan. The border closure not only made many tourists who had plans to visit Japan upset, but it also will make them more cautious of Japan at least for the next few years.

Covid exposed all of Japan's always there xenophobia and lack of reciprocation. People may be willing to forgive and funnel their hard-earned paychecks into Japan's tourism industry but they definitely won't be forgetting anytime soon how Japan upended so many university students' academic careers, kept families apart, and bathed in hypocrisy when it came to border control.

Japan is back to square one. The amazing strides they made for tourism in the last seven years are all flushed in the toilet!

I agree with the professor. I think there is now real concern about how Japan views foreign tourists, and how it will deal with them, both in day to day interactions, and the moment someone, somewhere on the planet catches something unusual, or a new variant emerges.

The banning of returning permanent residents, students, and people working here did serious harm to the image of the country.

 Japan is inching closer to a full reopening, with an announcement likely in the coming days.

This is why.

The vague comments. No solid time tables. The ambiguous, double standard and complicated "rules"

Japan shot its self in the foot on this blunder. No one to blame but the government itself.

Let's just see if Japan can dig itself out of the hole they put themselves in.

Comes with having a bunch of past retirement age cronies running the country! Japan should force every politician over the age of 65 to retire!

The sooner they open the borders fully and stop this xenophobic baloney the better!

Some tourists will come, but it will take several years for others to forget about Japan making it difficult for visitors and even resident. Worse, in the meantime, the global economy is marching towards recession and depression over the next several years, and likely war. Few people will have the money to travel and global warfare will also reduce pleasure travel.

Opening up the to tourists properly, whenever Japan gets around to it, will help provide some badly needed foreign funds, but it won't be enough to save the sinking ship that is Japan. For that, the nation needs a complete makeover and a completely new government.

It's not that Japan as a tourists' destination goes away , nor that investors' destination is not such short spanned. No need to make a fuss at all

The government's inept handling of nearly every aspect of the pandemic response has only served to highlight Japan's need for across the board reform. Younger, forward thinking more flexible leadership would be a good starting point .

We've been to Japan 4 times and had to cancel in 2020, we will not return until we can travel where we like without having to be part of a tour group which would be our worst nightmare. We don't mind wearing a mask inside if we have to but outside is just silly. Its very rare to see anybody wearing a mask in England even in the hospitals.

It's not that Japan as a tourists' destination goes away , nor that investors' destination is not such short spanned. No need to make a fuss at all

As for destination for academics, yes a few years closure means a lot. However quality of academics and the environments do matter most, which seems to be always esteemed lightly by JT community. Hence, again,

nothing to make a fuss about it. No needs at all to deal with just a boom,

Have to agree with Elvis. Those of us that live here are rightfully disappointed and frustrated with Japans over caution , but once the gates open again it’ll all be forgotten quickly. By the next cherry blossom season sounds about right. The cheap yen will be a huge draw.

When Japan has moved the goalpost numerous times and has even recommended against travel for fully vaccinated and negative tested PCR travelers then what is there to be said?

Previously, with regard to returnees and quarantining;even though numerous negative tests had shown no infection to be present,what was the use of 10 days quarantine?

When the population is told to do the impossible such as keeping a meter apart and then to pile themselves onto trains by the millions then there is obviously a massive disconnect in logic.

And even now, how is it that largely Japanese,potential carriers of the virus are allowed to return to Japan without a PCR check but tourists are still shut out?

There are other absurdities and most are aware of them.

Disappointment does even come close describing Japan’s debacle….

The sadness of it all is that citizens of Japan are welcome to visit most countries in the world, but do not allow others into their own. Many tourists have been stuck with expensive airline tickets that has been changed so many times that they end up worthless. We have all suffered during the lockdown, now is time to go back to normal and accept that covid will always be there, like the seasonal influenza. Japan has to welcome us like we do with them. There is no longer any excuse to keep tourists out. I expect Japan to open up in a couple of weeks.

Covid exposed all of Japan's always there xenophobia and lack of reciprocation. People may be willing to forgive and funnel their hard-earned paychecks into Japan's tourism industry but they definitely won't be forgetting anytime soon how Japan upended so many university students' academic careers, kept families apart, and bathed in hypocrisy when it came to border control.

exactly! although I really doubt that people will forgive. I think its left a bad taste in people's mouths. I could be wrong.

Japan is back to square one. The amazing strides they made for tourism in the last seven years are all flushed in the toilet!

And unlike some, i believe that this is a permanent state of affairs.

I agree with the professor. I think there is now real concern about how Japan views foreign tourists, and how it will deal with them, both in day to day interactions, and the moment someone, somewhere on the planet catches something unusual, or a new variant emerges.

Personally, it's rekindled my desire to immigrate to Canada. I never thought I would see that level of xenophobia here. Not to this level. I would not even think about coming to visit Japan if I was overseas. Now, I'm just keeping my head down and trying to find an avenue for immigration to Canada. Fingers crossed.

Some tourists will come, but it will take several years for others to forget about Japan making it difficult for visitors and even resident. Worse, in the meantime, the global economy is marching towards recession and depression over the next several years, and likely war. Few people will have the money to travel and global warfare will also reduce pleasure travel.

Opening up the to tourists properly, whenever Japan gets around to it, will help provide some badly needed foreign funds, but it won't be enough to save the sinking ship that is Japan. For that, the nation needs a complete makeover and a completely new government.

Agree 100%

The banning of returning permanent residents, students, and people working here did serious harm to the image of the country.

Absolutely! And I don't think the Japanese gov and the people here realize how much. And its certainly helped put S Korea on the map. When it comes to soft power, S Korea is already beating Japan to the punch.

The image of cool japan is dead in the water. And the Japanese are oblivious to it.

The sadness of it all is that citizens of Japan are welcome to visit most countries in the world, but do not allow others into their own.

Personally, I don't blame the J gov for this. I blame the western governments who did not reciprocate the travel ban on the Japanese. Had they done that, the public opinion here would have shifted to opening up the country due to the fact that the Japanese themselves couldn't travel.

If 　China、South Korea, Japan and all other Asian countries can be replaced as a destination for your vacation-Asian tour , so be it. REALLY not a big deal. Feel Asia anyway