Resumption of tourism - Latest info?

Not in near future. For the moment, there is not enough quarantine facilities (accommodations) as many people arriving at Japan with a PCR negative certificate are actually infected and passengers around those infected are also needed to be quarantined. I think medical infrastructure is also an issue that should be dealt with before resuming international tourism because many infected locals passed away at home without medical care at 5th wave of pandemic.

More speculation:

Japan's Omicron wave has just started. It is likely that it will be over in 2-3 months. Afterwards, we will see the opening process pick up again. Unless there follows another wave that the government considers dangerous enough to justify international isolation again, I am having hopes for an opening of the borders to some individual tourists in the second half of 2022.

Kishida is going to announce his decision regarding the immigration policy next week. I am still having a tiny hope that he will reopen the borders to new students and workers as Japan urgently needs them in various industries and because this isolation policy is causing increasing reputational damage. But as ken points out, there are elections coming up again, and popular opinion is strongly against any reopening moves...

@Uji, oh, this sounds like good news, that there will be some declaration by the PM about future immigration rules.
For those of us waiting outside of Japan in order to relocate to Japan the uncertainty is the biggest problem. I don't mind too much if my life in Japan starts in March 2022 or in Sep 2022, but it would be nice to have some kind of a strategy plan from the Japanese government. And I think for some other people waiting, having some clarity around timelines would also be good in order to decide for alternatives. I am personally in a very privileged position where I can already work in my job while still being outside of Japan, but for many other people this isn't possible, and one has to move on. Look for a job somewhere else (or a university somewhere else).
So if he really announces a strategy that would be a good way forward. Let's see.

Picking up a point from the excellent post from @LIZ and a related comment from @Likebike. Yes, I have contributed speculation in this thread an others, but it bears repeating.
As someone with a tourism business that has already been on hold for two years (and, no the bills do not go away with no customers), I am not planning on any tours occurring in the next six months as other categories of travelers will commence before tourists. I have someone desperately wanting to travel in May (not going to happen) and some in summer (unlikely), but most of the other people trying to make plans simply are not allowed into the country. Best bet is maybe autumn. But, like everyone else, the situation is uncertain, it is impossible to make constructive plans, and the waiting continues.
[On the plus side, I might get snow here in Tokyo this afternoon when go out.]

"Japan urgently needs them in various industries"
that is the opinion of industrial employers, who want to hire humans with "cheap" salary. it is the origin of the deflation and the retardation of Japan.
there are huge numbers of young non-employees in Japan. supplying them their jobs is "urgent". they are fed by tax right now. it is wasting money.

the fact that salaries did not increase in Japan indicates that worker supply is sufficient enough in total right now.

at present, businesses which depend on in-coming foreigners have serious damages. but, they are not major in Japan. accommodation, hotel business was not good, but it has rapidly improved, if their main customers are Japanese. as mentioned on the other thread, major visiting places are much crowded than previous with "Japanese". it is one of good indications of improving economy.

the omicron was introduced by in-comings and US military soldiers. that is serious drawbacks for both economy and your expectation of re-opening.

this sounds like good news, that there will be some declaration by the PM about future immigration rules.

Don't have high expectations. It is likely going to be "the current rules are extended indefinitely" or "... through February" or the like. But I have a tiny hope that he will reopen the border to new students and workers.

Japan really needs to stop their own citizens/residents from travelling outside of the country. They are the ones who brought Omicron into the country. Blaming foreigners is just a scapegoat, as Covid-19 does not care if you are Japanese or a foreigner.

If Japan needs to keep its borders closed (due to the medical care capacity), it really should apply to everyone, including their citizens, excluding any emergency needs. Don't allow Japanese citizens to vacation outside of the country; if anything-- I think it would better serve Japan to allow in students and workers with their limited capacity.

@Kirie, you can also turn that around and ask all other countries to simply mirror japans policy by not letting any japanese people in, it is as easy as that.

@uji, your last paragraph is contradicting, if omicron is brought in by travelers (obviously as japan is an island), you can�ft have �gbad for reopening�h in the same sentence as this implies that you would not open or start the cycle of bringing in other diseases as well.

Now to be realistic: Japan is needing export and maybe import of certain products, unless you have fully automated pilot / driver less transportation you always have the risk of bringing a new covid version to a country, it�fs already enough if 1 person is infected and it starts to spread. So blaming people from their own country is not really helpful. Especially as I don�ft think that japanese are currently traveling as tourists in the world, it�fs mainly japanese people living outside of japan that would not be allowed to come back and visit relatives. Would it even be legally possible in Japan to not allow passport holders into the country? How would they even apply to go back to their own country?

And regarding the mention of the japanese workforce: in the current times there are specific Jobs required where the demand can either not be fulfilled by the available experts in Japan or jobs that the younger generation may not want to do (elder care and so on). You could now force the younger generation into your ideals and change the system in japan or rely on foreign workers to fill the gap, pay taxes and help companies to be successful but if you close borders, don�ft want foreigners in the country and continue with wealthy lifestyle and successful companies something needs to be done or they would fall behind sooner or later

@uji, your last paragraph is contradicting

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. All I state are my speculations about the government's next moves and my personal opinion that I would be positively surprised by a reopening towards new students and workers.

I think everyone's looking at the wrong place for this answer. Japan is a very reactive country. If you want to learn "when", then you should look at the other island countries in this part of the world. When Taiwan, New Zealand, Philippines, Nauru, Tonga and the rest reopen fully for individual tourists, around that time Japan will also reopen. So it's smarter to look at other countries' examples.

Omicron did make everything worse, that's for sure. But opening for tourists will be slow and gradual. 2022 will be kinda tricky, if I must say. If they're to open, it will be for business people and students first and foremost as they did for a few weeks during last fall. Tourists will be the last people to enter Japan (from selected countries, obviously).

I'm from Europe, where the virus has hit hard. I don't see Japan opening borders to Europeans throughout 2022. They will open borders first with Asia, maybe South Korea? China? Or maybe Oceania like Australia and New Zealand? So, we, as in Europe and North/Central/South America, must not get our hopes high for an opening in 2022. I'm not a pessimist, but it just sounds unrealistic.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/01/11/national/japan-border-con...

People can make guesses all day long, but the situation keeps changing. Also, as suggested above, resumption is not going to be like flicking on a light switch - it will like be different for different countries. So while it might open up for one nationality, it won't for another.

There is another, very possible outcome that has not been mentioned - all the above assumes that the virus is going away, sooner or later. It might not - we might very well have to deal with this for the rest of our lives, like the flu season, but more deadly.

Although there are measures to have people quarantined for 21 days who would be staying for over a year... they are not making any progress towards granting entry based on an already issued visa.
The general public, unfortunately, sees foreigners as potential outbreaks, although the majority of infections on arrivals are brought by Japanese citizens. So the consensus is to close the border and stay closed. That is also because reciprocity is not applied in entry rules around the globe. And yes, as long as Japan and Australia can export and import goods, not much pressure is applied to open the "gates" for foreigners.

So with this + election for the house coming up, I lost my faith to be able to go to Japan as a non-resident and see my house and friends. There is absolutely no plan to open in any way the broader, although there are many discussions and plans in MOFA/JNTO each day. Similar to corporate meetings about thinking or planning doing something just to have a meeting.

My ticket for April 2020 is about to expire and it was a business class ticket(quite expensive)... So planning a trip to Japan is at best going to happen when people learn to accept this virus as part of our lives. A wild guess would be June 2023 at best as emerging variants will debunk all the plans made by MOFA/JNTO. And the new variants are coming, that is a certainty.

Yes, plan your trip but don't pay for it yet, don't commit to a period or date. One day it will open.

Although there are measures to have people quarantined for 21 days who would be staying for over a year

Where did you read/hear about that? I have never heard about anything like it.

It would seem most of the debate in this thread and elsewhere assumes we will be travelling while covid is still a thing, and I accept it will likely continue to be a thing for some time (some say forever).

However approaching it from a different angle, there are also people who do not want to travel until things are back to normal like it was in 2018, and so tourism numbers will not trully recover to pre-pandemic levels until then. Any wild guesses on when that will be?
I think it will likely be another few years before we can say covid is gone for good globally, which would be a pre-requisite for travel to return to "as we know it". While most of us are realistic enough to realize if we want to travel on this half of the 2020s, we will probably need to put up with covid restrictions, not everyone thinks that way, and tourist spots will probably not be the same/as lively as before until then. Both a good and bad thing imo, less crowded for me as the tourist, but not so good for the people trying to make a living.

On my last trip to central Japan we took several ropeways (gondolas) up mountains and it was crowded. Naturally they need to fit 30 or so people into a cabin the size of a small bus. If current restrictions and social distancing requirements are continued, I fear such places may shut down as it may no longer be economically viable to run. There is a chance that when we finally get to go, many places would have shut down or gone bankrupt.

@UJI This was discussed by MOFA to allow residents to re-enter or enter in 2020. Since then we have had vaccines, pills, treatments, and yet many if not all people who had visas would be willing to stay even 1 month in quarantine if that means being able to go to Japan.

In terms of traveling to Japan, I would like to spend there 3-12 months on a tourist visa(or the extended version of it) since I have a house I would gladly quarantine even for a month. I have also been vaccinated with Pfizer and would get the booster in the next 2 months.

@Jackson78 I am willing to absolutely accept any restriction, rules, or guidelines, just to be able to go there. Even if they require for me to pay extra or whatever kind of medical insurance... I would literally be willing to even pay for any medical services out of pocket if that would be required.

But as is the case with Australia, the whole idea is not to protect people, but to enforce draconic measures to justify previous restrictive measures, so public opinion will not affect political ratings. Meanwhile, artists, sportsmen, celebrities, and politicians are less affected by those measures.

I understand that they can't make an individual-based plan to enter the country. But they can provide a safe option from their standpoint.

Problem Solution: We closed the border to prevent largescale infections.
Logical Solution to the Solution: But the virus incubates in 7-14 days, so let's extend the quarantine just to make 100% sure no one is getting infected.

Problem Solution: We can't guarantee 100% the quarantine is not voided.
Logical Solution to the Solution: We can make special Quarantine Hotels, where guests pay for those services. (heck even make a profit)

I can go on with options that would allow any country to function in those times. But again, it's useless when the whole issue is political ratings.

And trust me, as a businessman in the large-scale events sector, heavily affected by the pandemic, hotels and touristic operators/businesses would 100% be willing to cut up to 30% the number of people allowed just to be able to operate. While not making a profit, it keeps the business alive and some incoming revenue, which is better than nothing. However Japanese businesses have not been so vocal to support of the resumption of international tourism.

For foreign residents, there has been much discussion on the matter. There have been accusations of xenophobia towards foreigners, and mistreatment by the Japanese government towards those with permanent residency. There has even been accusations that the positive test readings are false-positive and there is some sort of conspiracy in the airports. This is pretty crazy, but people are definitely feeling frustrated.

The overall consensus is that Japan should slowly resume tourism as every other country has at this point, since the majority of the population is now vaccinated. Culturally, Japanese are not vocal about their true feelings, but the tourism industry has been hard-hit and it can't be easy on those who typically depend on that money for their own livelihoods.

But as is the case with Australia, the whole idea is not to protect people, but to enforce draconic measures to justify previous restrictive measures, so public opinion will not affect political ratings. Meanwhile, artists, sportsmen, celebrities, and politicians are less affected by those measures.

I'm from OZ, and we dont have this issue. Not sure we should compare Japan and Australia policies if using fantasy political views.

I have delayed my flight a total of 4 times. The last time I moved my flight to Japan was at the end of March this year.

I am waiting for the Go To Travel Campaign to restart, late last year, the government announced that it might be restarting the new Go To Travel campaign (GoTo2.0), but according to the latest information I know, this Campaign has been postponed until further notice, I expect the Campaign to return at the end of February.
You can see more updates on the Go to travel Campaign here: https://kurochan.co/resumption-information-new-goto-travel-content/