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When Will Japan Reopen Its Borders to International Visitors? Japan's borders have been closed to international tourists since April 3, 2020, shortly after I visited for work, reviewing the new Park Hyatt Kyoto as well as Aman Kyoto, the Andaz Tokyo and the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, among others.
So far, Japan is still planning to host the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 July 23-August 8, 2021, although it's not a sure thing that they will happen, and particularly uncertain which visitors will be permitted.
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Is Japan Reopening in April 2021?
April 2021 has been floated as when Japan *may* reopen to some international visitors, but no specific date has been set, much less specific details about entry requirements. Japan views this early, limited reopening as a way to trial its policies and processes ahead of the Olympics. Of course, if Japan ends up again cancelling or postponing the Olympics, it also is likely to postpone reopening borders to international visitors.
Most likely, given Japan's extremely cautious approach (even permanent residents who work in Japan weren't permitted to re-enter Japan until August 2020, unlike Japanese citizens, and are still treated differently than citizens in terms of requiring more paperwork) U.S. citizens won't be permitted initially, at least not without quarantine, due to the high numbers of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. Even with the vaccine roll-out, there's uncertainty as to the extent a vaccinated person can be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus (which is also why even vaccinated people should continue to wear masks, at least until we have better data on this).
It's also very possible that individual tourism won't be permitted initially, only group tours from countries such as China and Taiwan, per Reuters. These tour groups going to pre-approved destinations via hired coach, in order to remain separate from Japanese domestic tourists and to protect vulnerable local populations.
For these reasons, we're recommending to our U.S. clients to delay Japan travel until 2022, as plans that are made for 2021 are very likely to have to be changed or cancelled entirely.
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