Japanese media has been reporting that the country’s government plans to ease quarantine requirements in later November.
Business visitors, including returning Japanese on business trips, students, and technical trainees, would need to quarantine for three nights instead of the current ten.
Here’s an excerpt from the Nikkei Daily:
Japan looks to let foreigners visit the country for short business trips, study abroad and technical training in an easing of its strict coronavirus-related entry rules, Nikkei has learned.
Tourists are not included in this round. The government is expected to announce the policy changes as early as this week, with implementation to begin this month.
The quarantine requirement for short-term business travelers will be cut to as little as three days for vaccinated visitors, from 10 days now. Companies and organizations receiving foreign nationals will be required to monitor their activities.
The shorter quarantine requirement will also apply to Japanese nationals returning from business trips abroad.
Conclusion
You have to remember that very few foreign nationals have been allowed to enter Japan under the current rules because most visa waivers have been abolished, or visitors are only allowed to enter from a minimal number of countries.
Japan has, however, allowed its citizens to freely leave and return the entire pandemic. However, they must have been quarantined at designated hotels or homes with supervised checks that they are not roaming around.
Let’s hope there will be positive news before sakura for leisure travelers, but it is more likely that we can enter Japan later in 2022.