Japan Lifts Entry Ban On 106 Countries On April 8, 2022

Japan has created great confusion today when it announced that it would lift the entry ban on 106 countries on April 8, 2022.

Japan’s government failed to mention that visa-free entry from all these 106 countries has been temporarily halted, and the current situation has not changed at all. Tourists are still not welcomed, and business and other travelers are required to apply for a visa.

Here’s the update from Japan:

The following 106 countries will not be subject to denial of permission to enter Japan from 0:00 am (JST) on April 8, 2022.

• Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste
• Oceania: Fiji
• North America: Canada, United States of America
• Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentine, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
• Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican
• Middle East: Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
• Africa: Botswana, Cabo Verde, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tunisia

And at the same time:

From 0:00 am (JST) April 8, 2022, visa exemption measures for the following 14 countries will be suspended.

Albania, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Panama, Serbia, Turkey and United State of America

Conclusion

Japan removes the denial of entry of 106 countries and simultaneously removes the visa exemption from 14 nationals that could have theoretically entered after this move = nothing will change.

The country has now been closed for non-nationals/residents for two years. Furthermore, even residents that were not Japanese were not allowed to enter for months in 2020.

Japan started to allow some students and business travelers on special visas to enter in late 2021 (temporarily halted when omicron started to spread). There is currently a cap of 10,000 international arrivals per day, including Japanese nationals returning overseas.

I wish the Japanese government would signal when they plan to reopen for visitor arrivals, but I don’t believe that this will happen anytime soon.