Resumption of tourism - Latest info?

As far as I know I cannot travel to Japan - I have not gotten the covid vaccine - and never will.

I can outlast the Japanese government decision on this one.

Yahoo Japan is not available in Europe, what does the article say?

It actually doesn't say anything about tourism. All it says is that the prime minister of Japan will gradually loosen the border laws over time as he sees fit in regards to health concerns. So useless article already telling us what we already know.

@Dan
Japan is one of about 160 you cannot enter currently. Japan can also outlast your unwillingness you get the vaccine.

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So, no, not really news, but it is being brought up a lot more than before.

Japan is one of about 160 you cannot enter currently.

According to Sherpa, Japan is joined only by China, Taiwan, the Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Cameroon, Suriname, New Zealand, Portugal and Suriname with its tough border restrictions:
https://apply.joinsherpa.com/map

I think Sherpa's information might be out of date, it looks like it's not that hard to visit Portugal as a tourist.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/portugal-travel-covid-19/index.html

This map is kept up to date. https://www.kayak.co.uk/travel-restrictions


Note that New Zealand is opening next month.

Countries still closed to foreign tourists:

North Korea
Turkmenistan
China
Taiwan
Libya
Syria
Yemen
Japan

The point of @H above was that it is �gover 160 countries �g to which the PP can�ft travel because she/he staunchly refuses to have a Covid vaccine.

I have no idea if the number of 160 countries is correct, but just checked for the Netherlands and it seems that for the entire EU a travel ban on non vaccinated, non Schengen residents apply. This the number of 160 + countries that require vaccination for travelers seems to be somewhat reasonable.

Source: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-net...

@LikeBike, a lot of countries (including the Netherlands) have vaccination exceptions for children of various ages traveling with fully vaccinated parents. So the person opposed to vaccine entry requirements just needs to de-age themselves and convince their hopefully fully vaccinated parents to cart them around. As for me, I'll stick with the vaccine, it really wasn't a big deal to get and other than a super achy arm no real side effects.

The vaccination status may make a difference with respect to whether and how long one has to quarantine; however, Japan will not refuse entry because somebody is not vaccinated.

@Uji, I think it says Portugal because in December the country had both covid vaccination and PCR test mandatory for visitors. It is no longer the case, which means that website is outdated.

Being vaccinated will be an asset for traveling in the future. Un-vaccinated visitors will be denied entry or required to quarantine. For those who like to travel and want to visit Japan one day, I suggest to rethink about the vaccine.

For me it was okay. And I will do it the 4th time if I must to.

I personally look forward to my 4th shot, but this is not a thread about the pros and cons of vaccines. It is about border control. And I am absolutely convinced that Japan is NOT going to deny entry to travelers based on the fact that they are not vaccinated. As for quarantines, yes, it is likely that the vaccination status will have an impact on the quarantine for some time to come. Currently entrants with three or more shots will profit from eased entry in that regard.

As for Portugal, it seems to still deny entry to tourists from most countries (including Japan) and therefore seems to be on that list justifiably.

@Uji, I do wonder about Portugal, though. I am portuguese and most Covid-rules have been lifted. Moreover, I love traveling and have scheduled trips, but they're in the European Union (being in the EU makes traveling easy). Not sure about other countries outside Europe.

But, you're right that quarantine will be imposed to some extent on un-vaccinated visitors. Many countries have those rules. It seems South Korea has lifted many restrictions now. People can now go freely just with PCR tests (vaccinated visitors, of course). Those un-vaccinated still have to quarantine.

I do want to visit South Korea, but my love for Japan is so big that I'm still waiting for the opening of borders.

According to the US Embassy in Portugal, updated yesterday, Tourists from the US can visit Portugal with a negative Covid test which really doesn't seem that onerous to me. I've taken multiple Covid tests since April 2021. I personally find the prospect of quarantine on arrival much more unpleasant, perhaps because unless you are retired or a university student, most Americans have much more limited vacation time, so losing vacation time is a lot worse. US citizens might need to fill out a Passenger Locator Card as well, but the form really isn't any different than the Safe Hawaii travel form Mainlanders had to fill out when visiting Hawaii up until a few weeks ago.

I mean the US requires a negative Covid test to enter the US from Portugal so it hardly seems unexpected Portugal would require the same.

Perhaps Portugal is not allowing Japanese tourists because Japan is not allowing Portuguese tourists?

I'm soooo hoping we will hear some good news soon! We saved for years for our family trip. I just really, really wish I knew if it's going ahead or not. Our agent will let us know either 1st May, or 13th (the day before we have to pay the balance) if it's going ahead or not. At present, they are cancelling all trips up to end of May. We will get our deposit back but it's not much consolation! If we 'jump' first and change the dates, (and pay a whopping fee) at least we could plan a small, cheap break for this year and try to go to Japan next year.

I'm soooo hoping we will hear some good news soon! We saved for years for our family trip. I just really, really wish I knew if it's going ahead or not. Our agent will let us know either 1st May, or 13th (the day before we have to pay the balance) if it's going ahead or not. At present, they are cancelling all trips up to end of May. We will get our deposit back but it's not much consolation! If we 'jump' first and change the dates, (and pay a whopping fee) at least we could plan a small, cheap break for this year and try to go to Japan next year.

It's ridiculous how some people here are gloating about restricting non-vaccinated travelers. If you don't realize it yet, different countries require completely different number of vaccine shots. Some will accept two, others three. In Japan the quarantine restrictions had been loosened if you had 2 shots in November, by the next reopening (for first-time entrants) in March they changed it to 3 only. Soon they're starting the 4th roll and by your logic do you know what will happen? Something like: "until September 30 11:59 pm it's okay to enter with 3 shots, from October 1 you'll need a minimum of 4". That of course will be as random as a dice roll, because at the same time country X will continue accepting 2 shots, while country Z will start requiring 3. And what will happen once they start vaccinating every year like the flu shot? You'll have to constantly check the cutoff date for switching the new required number from 6 to 7, 8 to 9, etc. And if you usually travel only within a continent wthout restrictions like Europe and have lost interest after the 4th needle, oh boy, you'll have to quickly get 3 more to reach the quota at that time if you want to see Kyoto.
There's only one realistic way of proper tourism recovery: no vaccination passes at all. Everything else is a mess and not meant to recover tourism.

Soon they're starting the 4th roll and by your logic do you know what will happen? Something like: "until September 30 11:59 pm it's okay to enter with 3 shots, from October 1 you'll need a minimum of 4".

The government is considering to offer a 4th shot only to the elderly and people at risk. It will only be a matter of time until the vaccination status will become irrelevant for entry into Japan, as well. But I doubt that it will become irrelevant already with the "next reopening" (which I expect to happen within the next 6 months). Some more time will pass until that happens.

The above is my judgment of the situation in Japan and has nothing to do with my personal opinion of how things should be done. I think this thread should be about the reopening of Japan rather than about personal opinions about vaccines and border control policies.