Hi!
I’m Nathan and welcome back to Ninja monkey.
The place for all things related to Japan, where I help you stay updated with current
affairs regarding entry and put together videos to help YOU plan potential future trips.
I do the research so that you don’t have to, and put all the readily available information
into one place.
So don’t miss any future updates by making sure you Subscribe and hit the like button
too.
Team, It certainly has been a busy week full of news and the last update gave us all a
hope for a sooner rather than later reopening for tourism, we must however remain realistic
and as I always say ‘its not until its official that its official’ after all.
I’m travelling to Seville over the weekend so preparing this update a little in advace
so please note that more news might have come to light since this was recorded.
In this update I continue to look at what’s been happening behind Japan’s closed borders
and hopefully we will continue to see indicators regarding when Japan will actually reopen
or how it might look for us tourists once Japan does indeed open up!
Anyway Let’s quickly start off by briefly diving into the vaccination drive, specifically
looking at booster shots.
As from the 12th May 55.2% of the population has now received their third dose and very
promisingly and most importantly 88.1% of those aged 65 years or older have now received
the booster shot too.
Also Tokyo’s hospitals stand at 15.5% of standard covid beds in use, that’s 1,124
patients admitted into hospital in Tokyo.
And, in terms of severe patients there are 6, meaning, only 1.2% of the 510 beds set
aside for severe patients in Tokyo are in use.
Team, Tokyo’s numbers have been rising in the past few days.
And the number of severe cases is also rising but ever so slightly so its very promising
to see hospitalisations hold stead and actually declining.
I must say that numbers rising is something that does not surprise me, golden week saw
a lot of mixing and travelling and as mentioned in last week’s update, train stations and
airports were crowded by domestic travellers.
All around the world once restrictions have ended, we have seen a similar trend occur,
with cases Initially going up.
Team, the most important statistic to keep an eye on is the fact that hospital overcrowding
is not occurring.
Kishida did say that the aftermath of Golden week and how it affects numbers would be a
decisive factor on any future loosening of restrictions, It will indeed be interesting
to see how the government interprets this slight rise in cases.
“As soon as June, based on the opinions of experts, we will review coronavirus regulations,
including border policies, in stages,” Kishida said.
“We are still in a period of transition back to normal life.”
It seems that my optimism for a complete removal of the entry cap came a little early, instead
according to government sources, it looks like Japan’s government is arranging to
double the cap on arrivals from overseas to 20,000 people per day in June.
Japan’s entry cap has slowly been increased over the past few months with it being raised
from 3,500 in November to 5,000 on March 1, then 7,000 in March and the current 10,000
daily entry in April.
The relaxation of the cap is expected to go ahead following an examination of airport
quarantine infrastructure and as mentioned previously a consideration to accept tourists
by trialling small-scale tours as soon as this month, with tourism entry being expanded
in stages.
A figure at the liberal Democrat Party has said that they will seek to have the government
consider the idea of Japan completely ending its policy of capping daily arrivals, abolish
testing on entry, and allow the entry of tourists freely.
Speaking in an interview Tuesday at his offices in parliament,
Seko who is a member of the House of Councillors said that the country should wind down its
tough restrictions adding that travellers who have received three doses of the vaccine
should follow government advice and wear a mask but be allowed entry into the country.
“Japan’s border controls have lost a lot of their significance” because the spread
of the infection isn’t leading to hospital overcrowding, Seko said.
“We should abolish them.”
He added.
“Contact among people is important in various ways for business as a whole, not just tourists,”
Seko said.
He added that a plan to open up would need to be explained to a public that still has
strong concerns over the health consequences.
And on that note more potential promising news continues, according to a Nikkei report
the Japanese government is considering an exemption for some travellers from requiring
testing at ports of entry, starting as early as June.
The consideration includes exempting those who have received three doses of a vaccine
or tested negative in pre-departure testing with the infection rate in the country of
origin being taken into account.
Currently, everyone arriving in Japan must undergo testing on arrival so this removal
would mean a less stressful entry in the future.
"As for measures at borders from June, we're reassessing our testing rules and quarantine
requests," Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno told a press conference Wednesday.
"We'll make appropriate decisions based on the situation at home and abroad and control
measures taken by other countries," he said.
The government will make a final decision based on Japan's infection trends following
the Golden Week holiday, which ended Sunday.
Six months ago, polls showed voters backed Kishida’s ban on new entry by foreign nationals.
But a recent survey by JNN has now found that 48% of respondents were in favour of relaxing
border controls in line with Kishida’s plan, while 38% were against the idea.
Team, pressure does continue to mount for Japan to reopen to tourism, but it is clear
that any kind of tourism reopening will likely come in stages, perhaps starting with small
trial group tours and then moving on to a fuller reopening some time hopefully soon
in the future.
Last week’s news has not really changed but it seems that this week further confirmation
has come that makes it likely that Japan will not be open fully for tourism in the month
of June.
I predict some form of more official government announcement next week, perhaps closer to
the end of the week.
We must continue vigilant and hope that hospitalisations remain manageable even though it is likely
that cases continue to rise.
--
Border easing is not the only thing that might be coming, wearing masks outdoors is not necessary
providing social distancing is practiced, Japan's top government spokesman has said,
especially with the approach of summer which is humid and extremely hot.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno said the government will continue to review anti-virus measures
while monitoring the country's coronavirus situation and consulting with medical experts.
"We recommend that people take off their masks outside as long as sufficient distance is
maintained, especially when temperatures and humidity are high," Matsuno told a press conference.
"Experts say high-risk behaviour, such as talking to people in close proximity without
masks, should be avoided.
Proper mask-wearing is necessary if you cannot maintain enough distance with others outside
and talk with them," he said.
Team, although Japan has never had a mask mandate like other countries, it is positive
to see such a move.
Tourists should keep in line with the norms of Japan, including mask wearing, and once
tourism does restart (hopefully in the summer) it might mean a little bit more freedom especially
when outside in the intense Japanese humid heat.
Mask wearing has been one of my worries for travelling in Japan in the summer, as I do
worry that some tourists will not follow the same rules and norms that Japanese people
follow and the few could give the majority a bad name.
Therefor a relaxation in mask wearing is certainly very positive news indeed!
Now that it seems that tourism is actually round the corner I wanted to highlight some
new attractions that might be of interest to you.
A 60-meter-long spiral slide attached to the iconic Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka has opened
to the public, riders will have a chance to experience a 10-second ride while enjoying
a scenic view.
The new attraction is named Tower Slider, and takes people from the observation tower
at 22 meters above ground to the first basement floor.
Shingo Hayakawa, a 54-year-old man who was the first to ride the tube-shaped slide, said,
“It was thrilling as I felt my body swirl.”
Team, do you like slides?
I certainly am excited to check this new attraction out!
Would you be?
Also, if you are aware of any new attractions or things of interest that have come about
after the pandemic please let me know!
I’ll be very interested to check them out.
Anyway team, I guess that this update just confirms that things are starting to move
and pressure continues to mount, more articles highlighting the return of tourists are published
nearly on the daily and I am incredibly optimistic that some very promising news will coming
soon!
So, make sure you’re notifications are turned on and if you are not part of the discord
group then check it out to keep updated and connect with a group of likeminded people
too!
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all proceeds go back into the channel so that I can create better content!
Patreon is a great way to support and even get early access to my videos depending on
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There is also a PayPal link for a one-off donation if that’s something you are interested
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So.. that’s all for now,
Stay positive team!
(but covid negative) Till next time, I’ll continue researching and keeping an eye on
all updates until the next video!
So.. till then, Arigatou, gracias, thanks bye!