New abnormal tourism: Japan plans to handle foreign biohazards (Updated 8 June 2022)

[The 8 June update follows the original post]

Sakoku 1.0 ended when the western barbarians forced Japan to let them in.

And it seems Sakoku 2.0 is going to end in a similar way.

And what bad manners are they talking about? Not taking your shoes off when entering a house?

Masks! This issue of national importance was debated in the national parliament. The solution: small tour groups accompanied by North Korean style tour guides to ensure 24/7 masking.

And here’s an example of PM Kishida making sure visitors obey Japan’s mask rules.

Anyway, since there are no legally enforcable mask “rules” (only requests) in public areas of Japan, this would mean that foreign tourists will be only people to have to follow these so-called “rules”.

To help improve the manners of visiting barbarians, the Japan National Tourism Organizaion has made the nice infographics below.

Beware the dangers of talking on trains and pressing elevators buttons! But I don’t see how masking up outside in the Japanese summer is going to protect anyone’s health.

22 junior-high school students in Amagasaki taken to hospital with heat stroke. They were practicing for sports day while wearing masks

But there’s more.

Apparently, you’ll be putting yourself and others in danger by shaking hands, talking too much while eating, and standing too close to people while waiting for the bus you’ll all be tightly packed inside of for several hours [1].

Potential contaminants will also need to install Japan’s Covid tracking app, COCOA. It probably won’t bother them with too many notifications though.

So how can you join one of these bio-security tours? Well, you have to come from a country on Japan’s blue list. Being on a blue list county also frees you from socially harmful and completely ineffective vaccination discrimination.

So what are these categories based on. Why, test positivity rates of course!

Covid border measures: 3 categories based on positivity rates

So if you are lucky enough join one of these chaperoned tour groups but your manners aren’t good enough to prevent you or another group member getting Covid, what happens? Sadly, the tour will be cancelled, and all group members will have to self-isolate in their hotel rooms. On the bright side, you might make the news!

So book your tickets as soon as you can, because who knows when the borders will be slammed shut again.

Sakoku 2.0: a short history of Japan’s long entry ban

Update 8 June 2022

Travel industry insider Robert Schrader gives more details of these tours in his Medium post.

And the government’s has released its guidelines for travel companies that will handle foreign biohazards.

Government instructs that foreign tourists must wear masks, and if they don’t, they may not be able to take part in or continue with the tour

So what will happen to unmasked tourists?

And not just for refusing to wear masks. The same fate will befall tourists who refuse to isolate as close contacts.

But the good news is if a tour member tests positive for Covid, members other than the positive case and his/her close contacts will still be able to carry on with the tour while the case and close contacts stay in the hotel until the flight out. Er, but how will the guides prevent all tour group members from becoming close contacts?

Easy: in addition to making the tourists wear masks as much as possible, the tour guides are instructed to fix and keep records of seating arrangements on public transportation and at restaurants! (I’m honestly not making this up.) In Japan, a close contact is defined as someone who spent 15+ minutes unmasked within 1 meter of a positive case, so having people wear masks at almost all times and sit in the same arrangement for every bus/train journey and every meal will apparently get round this. After all, why should Japan fix its close contact criteria when foreign tourists can fix their seating? Guides will also record all of the tourists’ movements.

The guidelines do say that tourists don’t need to wear masks outside when 2 meters from others and not talking. The guidelines even provide examples of the special occasions people can take off their masks.

Examples include bathing, canoeing, trekking, and fruit picking.

But if you do want to wear your mask in the hot tub or hot spring, that’s okay too.

But tourists should refrain from talking loudly during meals and should stay silent even when masked in busy temples or art galleries.

And if the recommendations in the infographics above weren’t enough, the guidelines provide even more infection-prevention advice such as…

…because silence is the price you must pay to remove your mask. Other recommendations are to wear masks between bites and sips…

…not shouting…

…social distancing on benches…

…and not all diving in with your chopsticks at the same time. To be honest, even I can’t work out the thinking behind this one.

So pack your bags and don’t forget your mask!

[1] For the “thinking” behind the Japanese government’s infection-prevention advice, see here.

Why has Japan had so few Covid deaths (Part 1)? Was it culture?

Update 11 June

And in case you want to know how much international travel restrictions have contributed to Japan’s low Covid mortality, please see here.

Why has Japan had so few Covid deaths (Part 5)? Was it international travel restrictions?