Coronavirus (COVID-19) travel restrictions
Last updated: September 16, 2021
Table of Contents
Measures by the Government of Japan
1. Areas subjected to entry ban
4. Suspension of visa validity
5. Suspension of visa exemption measures
6. Restrictions on airports/ports for arrival
7. Entry of foreign nationals with special exceptional circumstances
All coronavirus-related information on this website is gathered from the government ministries and authorities responsible for handling COVID-19 restrictions and measures. Due to the regularly changing situation and the constant updating of information, it is essential that you always check for updates and follow the latest guidance from the relevant ministries and official bodies.
Measures by the Government of Japan
1. Areas subjected to entry ban
Foreign nationals categorized below are denied permission to enter Japan for the time being, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Foreign nationals who have stayed in any of the areas listed in the following table within 14 days prior to the application for landing.
| Asia | Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste |
| 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, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela |
| Europe | Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican |
| Middle East | Afghanistan, Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates |
| Africa | Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central Africa, Comoros, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
For details, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section1 
The Government of Japan announced “Phased Measures for Resuming Cross-Border Travel” whereby it intends to establish a special quota pertaining to cross-border business travelers and others for entry into and departure from Japan, that operates separately from general procedures for cross-border travelers.
(temporarily suspended from January 14th, 2021)
For details, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/cp/page22e_000925.html#section1
2. Denial of the re-entry from certain countries/regions designated in response to coronavirus variants of special concern on border measures
The re-entry into Japan of foreign nationals with status of residence who have stayed in certain countries/regions designated in response to coronavirus variants of special concern on border measures within 14 days prior to the application for landing are denied for the time being unless there are special exceptional circumstances.
For details, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section2
3. Quarantine measures
The current quarantine measures are strengthened and are decided to remain in place until further notice.
For more information, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section3
4. Suspension of visa validity
Validity of visas listed below is suspended.
(1) Single and multiple-entry visas issued by March 8th, 2020 by Japanese Embassies or Consulates General in China (including Hong Kong and Macau) and Republic of Korea
(2) Single and multiple-entry visas issued by March 20th, 2020 by Japanese Embassies and Consulates General in the following countries
| Europe | Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican |
| Middle East | Iran |
| Africa | Egypt |
(3) Single and multiple-entry visas issued by March 27th, 2020 by Japanese Embassies and Consulates General in the following countries
| Asia | Brunei, Indonesia (note), Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam Note: including seal of “visa wavier registration certificate” |
| Middle East | Bahrain, Israel, Qatar |
| Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
(4) Single and multiple-entry visas issued by April 2nd, 2020, by Japanese Embassies and Consulates General located in or accredited to the following countries and regions
| Asia | Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste |
| Oceania | Cook, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | Antigua and Barbuda, Argentine, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela |
| Europe | Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan |
| Middle East | Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates (note), Yemen Note: including seal of “visa wavier registration certificate” |
| Africa | Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles , Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
(5) From 12:00 am (JST) on January 21st, 2021, the validity of visas already issued under “Business Track” or “Residence Track” and visas issued based on “New measures for border enforcement” is suspended.
The measure described in paragraph 4 (1) - (5) will be implemented for the time being.
For details, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section4
5. Suspension of visa exemption measures
As visa exemption measures with the countries and regions listed below are now suspended.
(1) Visa exemption measures agreed with Japan and the following countries and regions
| Asia | Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam |
| Oceania | Australia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | Argentine, Bahamas, Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay |
| Europe | Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican |
| Middle East | Israel, Iran, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates |
| Africa | Lesotho, Tunisia |
(2) The effect of Pre-Clearances (i.e. visa exemptions) granted by the Japanese Government to APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) issued by the following countries and regions is also suspended.
Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam
The measure described in paragraph 5 (1)(2) will be implemented for the time being.
For details, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section5
6. Restrictions on airports/ports for arrival
The Government of Japan announced some measures concerning arrivals at airports/ports.
These measures will be in place for the time being.
For more information, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section6
7. Entry of foreign nationals with special exceptional circumstances
Currently, in most cases, foreign nationals who wish to newly enter Japan need to apply for a visa.
Please apply for an appropriate visa at Embassies or Consulates or Consular Office of Japan (for Taiwan, Taipei Kaohsiung offices of Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association) in your country/region.
For more information, please check the following page.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section7
8. State of emergency
The Japanese government has declared a state of emergency for the following prefectures.
- Targeted prefectures(1): until September 12th, 2021
Miyagi, Okayama
- Targeted prefectures(2): until September 30th, 2021
Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Okinawa
