Updated on February 28, 2022 to reflect Japan’s definition of “fully vaccinated” for quarantine purposes, and rules on public transportation.

Following up on last week’s post regarding the opening of Japan’s borders to foreigners for purposes other than tourism, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted an update to their web page concerning Border measures to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

If you can fully read and understand all of the measures on that web page, you deserve an award. It’s extremely complicated with a myriad of rules and regulations that are both recently updated and left over since the onset of the pandemic.

What the page does specify, however, is how quarantine will be handled for arrivals starting next month.

Currently, all international arrivals are required to quarantine for seven days. Either three or six of those days, depending on where the traveler has stayed in the last two weeks, must be spent at a government quarantine facility while the remaining time is spent in self-isolation at a hotel or residence of the traveler’s choosing. These rules are regardless of whether or not someone is vaccinated.

Starting on March 1st, the Japanese government will change the quarantine rules based on two criteria:
* Where the traveler has been in the last two weeks, and
* Whether or not the traveler is fully vaccinated against COVID-19

IMPORTANT NOTE: Japan defines “fully vaccinated” as having received a full series of COVID-19 vaccinations AND a booster shot. For the full series, Japan recognizes the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson vaccines. For the booster, Japan recognizes Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

If a traveler is arriving from a country or territory that has been designated by the Japanese government as high risk for COVID-19 (or in the government documentation, at risk for the Omicron variant):
* If not fully vaccinated, the traveler must spend three days at a quarantine facility and must take a test after three days.
* If fully vaccinated, the traveler must spend seven days in home quarantine in principle, however quarantine can end after a minimum of three days and a negative COVID test result.

If a traveler is arriving from a country or territory that has been designated by the Japanese government as low risk for COVID-19:
* If not fully vaccinated, the traveler must spend seven days in home quarantine in principle, however quarantine can end after a minimum of three days and a negative COVID test result.
* If fully vaccinated, no quarantine is required.

Public transportation restrictions:
If quarantine IS NOT required, there are no restrictions on the use of public transportation.
If home quarantine is required, public transportation is allowed only to and from the location of quarantine using the most direct route. This applies for the duration of the quarantine.
If facility quarantine is required, I infer from the posted regulations that the use of public transportation will only be allowed after finishing the quarantine.

As always I’ll share more updates as they become available and understood!