Hi! I’m Nathan and welcome to Ninja monkey. The place for all things related to Japan.
I do the research so that you don’t have to,
and put all the readily available information into one place.
As Japan’s borders are once again closed, Hopefully my updates will help you make
informed decisions leading to answering the question “When will Japan’s border reopen?”
I might not have all the answers, but I still believe that it's important to
have a look at what is happening behind Japan closed borders,
as not only will it help us gain insight into what’s happening in the world of travel
but hopefully staying informed will give you some kind of peace of mind.
So, let’s get started.
In this video we will look at whats happening in regards to vaccination and cases in Japan
and take a dive into how the new Omicron variant of the virus
might have affected travel in many aspects regarding entry into Japan,
including a number of minor changes regarding how people might need to quarantine on arrival.
I will also be looking at other Japan travel related news and try to highlight some positive
aspects too! All sources are linked in the video description and timestamps are available too.
So lets get started..
On the topic of vaccinations, Japan has now administered a total of 198,014,376
This includes first and second jabs
This means that for now, out of the population of around 126 million people
79.0% have now received one dose of the vaccine and 77.3% have received both doses
of the vaccine and would therefore be considered fully vaccinated.
And for the first time I can report that 36,450 third doses have now also been administered.
A number we shall certainly be keeping an eye on.
And in regard to Covid, 25 new cases were reported on Friday in Tokyo,
up by 11 from a week ago. Importantly, no deaths were reported among those infected.
Cases have remained below 30 since the 6th of November!
But as the world focuses on the Omicron variant of the virus, Japan has reported eight new cases,
bringing the country's total number of cases involving the variant to 12.
All eight cases were detected from testing conducted on arriving passengers at airports
and there is currently no evidence of community transmission.
A senior government official said
‘The fact that all cases were detected via airport screenings shows that measures to detect
cases at airports upon arrival are working’. And although it seems that this new variant might
be less severe than delta. I will not be touching upon this until things become clearer but there
is a lot of data and information, I recommend you keep up to date with in regards to this variant.
Also as from now, those travelling on the same aeroplane as someone with the
Omicron variant are now deemed as close contacts.
Interestingly, those lucky enough to enter Japan will now be able to self-quarantine at their homes
or at accommodation facilities for the 14-day period if they are arriving from an
area where the Omicron variant is not spreading. This is a change to the original rules set out.
Previously, arrivals had to stay at government-designated
facilitiy for the first three to six days after landing in Japan,
followed by eight to 11 days at home or in alternative accommodation.
This change has come into effect as a result of the new border rules to
prevent the spread of the Omicron variant causing an apparent shortage of hotel rooms
for people to isolate in, and has therefore made the government have to relax their isolation rule.
So, team, what do you think about this?
Personally, if the airport screenings and measure to detect cases are working so well,
as a senior government official has said, then why not let others in?
On the other hand, it might look like Japan is trying to contain the Omicron variant
from jumping into the community and this could potentially really slow down Japan’s reopening.
Will Japan just end up lagging behind the rest of the world once again?,
it’s inevitable that the virus will eventually jump into the community, and perhaps the only
way for it not to, is to continue with such strict measures, but is this realistic in the long term?
Also, its interesting to see Japan change its own rules as a result of a shortage of hotel rooms
for those entering the country, perhaps there is hope, and rules can change .. you never know.
So, lets have a look at how the Omicron variant might have affected government decisions
and what else might be happening in this area.
Firstly Prime minister Kishida has said his government will shorten the period between
which people can receive their second vaccine shot and become eligible for a booster from the
original 8 months. But regarding Japan’s closure of the borders he said he remains
"ready to accept criticism that I'm being too cautious before
we have an adequate grasp of the situation."
Additionally the government will finally start issuing digital certificates for people
who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on December 20th.
This certificate is interestingly initially intended for overseas travel
rather than domestic use for now. And will work via a QR code through a smartphone app.
The Government will also consider when to resume its Go To Travel tourism promotion campaign
after carefully watching the infection situation in the country
during the end of year and New Year holiday period
In other Japan travel related news.
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), a platform for Promotion of Japanese tourism
for international visitors has relaunched its UK travel trade website.
The website features news, resources, webinars and giveaway campaigns across
Japan to prepare agents for when the Japanese border reopens.
Travel agents will be able can keep up to date through monthly newsletters and
online training as well as access to a photo library to assist in promoting the destination.
The first training webinar will take place on 15 December and will feature
the Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido. The platform also features training giveaways
including the chance to win a number of prizes with JNTO and the airline ANA.
Team, I really wanted to highlight any specific travel related news,
it’s interesting that this organisation has relaunched its website in the U.K and
is becoming more active. I’ll take any positive news at this point, but I do remain realistic.
The fact that even Japan’s domestic go to travel campaign is potentially being reconsidered
and that the Japanese government is carefully watching the situation in the country during
the year-end and New Year holiday period makes it obvious that we must remain vigilant and take care
when planning any future travel to the country. At the same time, could we start hearing more
news after the New year’s period? I believe this is a big possibility and hopefully a positive one.
On the other hand Japan Airlines is forseeing a delay for air travel,
A recovery for Japanese carriers was slowing even before omicron emerged late last month.
And although domestic travel had just about recovered to about 60% of normal levels in
November, its a different story for international traffic which remained at around 10%,
Japan Airlines CEO has called for the government to ease entry restrictions
after assessing conditions.
So Team, what are your thoughts on all of this?, I’m always interesting in knowing what you think,
so lets get the conversation started in the comment section! And if you haven’t got much
to say Just say Hi and where you are from! I love seeing the community grow and how international
the community is. You can also take the time to encourage each other down there
and I continue to encourage you to send in any information that you might think is helpful or
relevant, either via one of my social platforms or simply sharing with the community in a comment.
Additionally if you live in the EU I would like to bring to you attention a petition
on the situation of EU nationals seeking to study and work in Japan following the entry
ban during the COVID-19 pandemic. The link will be in the video description.
Anyway team, my analytics tell me that a lot of viewers are not subscribed to the channel.
So I would really appreciate it if you might want to jump on board and become part of Team
Ninja monkey so that you get the latest updates and don’t miss anything! And if you don’t that
perfectly fine too, I really do appreciate you taking the time to watch this video.
Anyway,
Stay positive team! 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!