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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday announced plans to ease border controls from early September by eliminating requirements for pre-departure COVID-19 tests for travelers who have received at least three vaccine doses, and he will also consider increasing daily entry caps as soon as next month.
Japan, which has imposed some of the toughest border measures for the coronavirus, currently requires negative PCR test results within 72 hours of departure for all entrants, a practice that has been criticized as cumbersome.
Kishida, after holding virtual meetings with government ministers and medical advisors earlier Wednesday, told reporters in an online news conference that entrants who have received at least one booster vaccine can waive the pre-entry test beginning Sept. 7.
“We plan to gradually ease border controls to allow entry procedures to be as smooth as those of other Group of Seven countries,” Kishida said from his official residence, where he has been on duty while isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.
