Japan to relax entry restrictions, but still foreigners = virus

One question I had when Japan released its guidelines for dealing with foreign biohazards (referred to as “tourists” in other places) was “How many people will be willing to pay large sums of money for the opportunity to put up with Japan’s stupid Covid rules?” Well we now have an answer: 23,676!

Tourist arrivals in June and July; tourists applying to come in August, in September, and from October onward.

The biosecurity tours have been so unpopular that even Japanese media other than the Nikkei have noticed.

Japan’s eased border restrictions have resulted in a relative trickle of international tourists entering the country, a disappointing but unsurprising development in the long-struggling travel and hospitality industry.

Industry sources said travelers are put off by Japan’s remaining entry rules concerning PCR tests and chaperoned travel packages. Others noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has not gone away.

“Japan still imposes tough restrictions,” said an official of TAS Co., a Tokyo-based company that specializes in inbound trips. “It is lagging behind other countries in letting in tourists despite its claim to be a tourism powerhouse.”

Even returning Japanese nationals and resident foreigners require certification of a negative test within 72-hours of departure, which has meant many Japanese having to extend their stays overseas after testing positive.

So Japan has decided to marginally improve this situation. From sometime in September, it will remove the negative test requirement for people who’ve had at least three Covid jabs, increase the daily entry limit from 20,000 to 50,000, and allow tourists in on unguided tours. Let’s look at each change in turn.

No test requirement for the 3+ jabbed

Why lift this requirement only for the 3+ jabbed? That’s simple. The below paragraph comes from a Reuters article.

Japan's foreign ministry said it is aware of the media reports, but deferred comment to the health ministry, which has jurisdiction over border infection controls. The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yes, our friends at the MHLW set the rules. And they are concerned that demand for the third jab has been comparatively weak in younger age groups.

Rates of 2 and 3 doses and the difference between them (in white) by age group as of 1st August

Removing the testing requirement for the triple-jabbed is an easy way to incentivise boosters. Sadly but inevitably, the MHLW prioritises the interests of Pfizer and Moderna even when deciding border rules. The main effect of this change will be to make outbound travel more attractive to triple- and quadruple-jabbed Japanese, not to make inbound travel that much more attractive to foreign tourists.

Daily entry limit

Japan lifted the limit from 10,000 to 20,000 at the start of June to coincide with its “reopening” to foreign tourists. But it needn’t have bothered: embarrassingly, there were fewer foreign arrivals in June and July after the lifting than in May before it.

But the daily limit also applies to returning Japanese nationals and resident foreigners, so it may benefit them if more triple-jabbers decide to take advantage of the discriminatory testing regime and go overseas. Or it may not matter. We’ll see.

Unguided tours

Here’s how NHK describes the changes.

The Japanese government has decided to allow tourists to enter the country without joining a guided tour, if their visit has been arranged through a travel agency. The agencies that arrange tours are expected to manage their clients' schedules. Tourists will also be asked to follow guidelines if cases of infection are confirmed.

But the government will continue to deny entry to individual travelers who don't make arrangements through travel agencies.

So tourists will get a choice: a tour with a mask-obsessive guide or a tour without one. How will the unguided tours work in practice? You know as much as I do at this point. But I assume there will be various off-putting details, which will doubtlessly involve masks.

The main point is that Japan is still not willing to let visiting vectors of disease travel the country freely to spread contagion. Moreover, the government’s attitude that “foreigners = virus” reflects, shapes, and enforces the same attitude among much of the public. From the Asahi article quoted above.

The [TAS] official also noted that some restaurants and tourist facilities in Japan are refusing to accept foreign guests as an anti-virus measure, making it more difficult for the company to arrange inbound tours.

Do you want to visit a country where businesses can refuse you entry as an “anti-virus measure”?

So Japan in October will be a slightly more attractive holiday destination than Japan in August. But potential tourists compare the entry restrictions of one destination with those other destinations, not the restrictions of the same destination one or two months before. So from a tourist’s perspective, Japan will still not be competitive with East Asian countries that act like they want tourists, such as Thailand, Vietnam, or South Korea.

However, the main victims of these restrictions aren’t potential foreign tourists but people working in the Japanese travel industry. It has already seen over 5000 businesses close…

…and as long as Japan continues with discriminatory and ineffective entry restrictions, we should expect more to follow.