Tourists to Japan may be sent home if they don’t wear face masks and follow other health measures, government says
- Japan is set to allow package-tour visitors from selected countries and regions from Friday as the border gradually reopens to international tourism
- Travel companies will be required to explain health rules and book tours only for customers who have agreed to comply, according to guidelines issued on Tuesday
Travel companies will be required to explain the rules and book tours only for customers who have agreed to comply. That will include a warning that the tourists could be asked to leave Japan if they disobey the rules. The guidelines, announced by the government’s tourism agency on Tuesday, are part of an effort to restart inbound tourism after the borders closed in early 2020.
Japan is set to allow package-tour visitors from Friday. Entry will initially be restricted to tourists from 98 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, China, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.
The guidelines state that travel agencies’ tour routes should avoid crowded areas, as well as any places that implement strict antivirus protocols.
“Understanding of the guidelines and compliance will lead to the smooth resumption of inbound tourism and its expansion,” Tetsuo Saito, Japan’s tourism minister, told a press conference on Tuesday.
Although a limit on arrivals from overseas has been be doubled to 20,000 people per day, that is just a trickle compared with pre-pandemic visitor levels.
Japan opens up to some foreign tourists from June 10: what you need to know
Some businesses and lawmakers are calling for the country to end the daily cap, but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration has been keen to project a strict stance on Covid-19 ahead of upper house elections set for July.
Under the proposed guidelines, tested last month with a limited number of tour groups, visitors will be asked to sit at designated seats in restaurants. Travel agents should keep records of movements and accompany those testing positive for Covid-19 and close contacts to facilities for isolation.
The mask rule isn’t based on scientific evidence and is extremely unfriendly to travellers, said Kenji Shibuya, an epidemiologist and research director at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. Japan has acquired high immunity against Covid-19 and can further ease its infection controls to boost social activities, he said.
“The government is treating Japanese and foreign tourists differently and the differences can’t be scientifically explained,” said Shibuya. “There’s no evidence that being accompanied by tour guides will lower the risks of infection. In endemic situations, it should be left to individuals to manage their own risks.”
Japan’s reopening involves allowing entry from countries and regions where infection levels are low. They will be divided into three categories – red, yellow and blue – depending on their assessed virus risk, according to the foreign ministry.
02:13
Japan to welcome small tour groups after scrapping travel curbs on international visitors
Travellers arriving from the 98 countries or regions on the blue list will be able to bypass quarantine as long as they pass a pre-departure Covid-19 test, according to the foreign ministry. Those on the yellow list will also require proof of vaccination to skip quarantine.
Japan has fared relatively well during the pandemic, with the lowest mortality rate per 100,000 among the Group of Seven nations, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The country has been gradually easing entry restrictions for foreign visitors, seeking to match other G7 countries after coming under fire at home and abroad for its tough border controls.
But it is likely to take some time for Japan to reopen its borders to individual tourists, as the government is still concerned about a potential resurgence of infections.
Additional reporting by Kyodo
