Japan is fully opening to Filipino tourists this month
After nearly three years, Japan is finally opening fully to Filipino tourists beginning October 11, 2022 for multiple entry visa holders.
After nearly three years, Japan is finally opening fully to Filipino tourists beginning October 11, 2022, for multiple entry visa holders!
Best of all, tourists can go on their own, with no need for a packaged tour from an agency. The daily cap of entrants to the country will also be removed. This means the travel rules are pretty much back to pre-pandemic status, except for some requirements such as vaccination.
The announcement was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan which shared a new update on its website that states:
Single entry visa and multiple entry visa which have been issued by Embassies, Consulate-Generals and Consulates of Japan in all countries/regions and whose validity have been temporary suspended will take effect again from 0:00 am (JST) on October 11, 2022.
What this means is that individuals with a valid multiple entry visa for tourism will be able to visit Japan beginning October 11, 2022.
To visit Japan, an individual must be fully vaccinated (3 doses) with a vaccine that is on the Emergency Use List of World Health Organization (WHO), and an offiical vaccination certificate must be presented.
If not fully vaccinated, a negative result of a pre-departure COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to departure will be required. If these are met, no quarantine measures will be needed.
In March 2020, Japan temporarily suspended the single-entry and multiple entry visas in the Philippines and in other countries all over the world. But in 2021, Japan began to accept foreign tourists, but there was a limited number of entrants per day. Tourists also needed to be part of a packaged tour to visit.
This announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan was confirmed in a report by the Manila Bulletin, as well as some travel agencies.
For those who don’t have a visa yet though, there is no announcement yet on reopening of Japan tourist visa applications. Though it’s likely that applications will open soon, so watch out for announcements in the coming days or weeks.