No Need for PCR Test to Enter Japan! No Negative Certificate Required from September 7

According to a speech by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a press conference today (August 24, 2022), from September 7, a negative PCR certificate 72 hours prior to entry into Japan from abroad will no longer be required, provided that three doses of the designated novel coronavirus pneumonia vaccine are on record.

At the press conference, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan will further liberalize various measures such as the number of people entering Japan, PCR checks before foreigners leave the country, and inspection and quarantine when entering Japan. One of the first steps is to exempt people who have received three doses of the vaccine from having to submit a negative PCR certificate when entering Japan, starting on September 7. These people include both Japanese and foreigners.

In addition, Japan currently allows 20,000 people a day to enter the country. In the future, Japan will take into account the infection situation in Japan and abroad, as well as the inspection and quarantine programs of other major countries, and will slowly liberalize its own restrictions, so that Japan, like other G7 countries, can allow foreign tourists or people who need to enter the country to enter Japan more smoothly.

Last December (2021), only 3,500 people were allowed to enter Japan per day, which has slowly increased to the current 20,000 per day as the infection status has changed. There is currently a proposal to relax to 50,000 people per day by mid-September, but the Japanese government has not yet given a concrete and definite plan.

We are looking forward to the day when people can come and go freely.