Athletes and coaches, officials and journalists - they all complained in the summer, at least internally, about the strict anti-Covid rules that Japan had imposed on foreign guests during the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Now Japan is taking measure of these rules to allow and facilitate the entry of business people.

Even if they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, overseas business travelers to Japan will have to grapple with activity plans and daily health data collection in the coming months.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan, based in Tokyo.

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The government in Tokyo had actually just decided to slightly open the borders, which had largely been closed since spring 2020, and to issue visas again to foreign business people, students and technical interns.

But with an abundance of bureaucratic regulations to ward off the corona virus, the third largest economy in the world will continue to be the most closed country in the circle of the large democratic industrialized countries of the Group of Seven (G 7).

In Europe and North America, on the other hand, the corona border trees are increasingly falling.

The discrepancy is irritating, given that Japan has vaccinated more people against the virus than the large European countries or the United States, based on population size.

Most recently, Japan registered fewer than 200 new infections a day.

Quarantine of mostly ten days

Companies and trade associations in Japan are concerned that the business and location of Japan will be damaged by international standards because of the strict entry rules. "It is positive that Japan is moving with the new rules," says the head of the German Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo, Marcus Schürmann. "But the corrections towards the opening are only minimal."

One of the biggest hurdles is that Japan will only accept 3,500 new arrivals a day for the time being in order to enforce its strict quarantine regulations. Rumor has it that the government could soon raise the limit to 5,000 people. But even then, with more than 300,000 foreign students and interns waiting, it would still take months for the application backlog to be cleared. Schürmann demands the highest level of transparency about the criteria according to which visa applications are approved for the limited entry quota.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, Japan received an average of more than 100,000 people a day, including tourists.

These have to stay outside now as well.

The quarantine of mostly ten days, which makes short business trips practically impossible, is particularly annoying for companies.

According to the new rules, the obligation to segregate can be reduced to three days.

But this involves a great deal of bureaucratic effort.

Digital proof of vaccination is still missing

Companies that invite business travelers from abroad have to fill out many forms and create an activity plan for the first 14 days so that potential chains of infection can be traced in an emergency. Entry with shortened quarantine must be approved by the ministries responsible for the respective industry. Only then can the traveler apply for a visa. The inviting companies must also guarantee that the traveler complies with all anti-corona regulations. For example, the guest may only use public transport that has reserved seats. He must later be able to document trips in the country with the reservation cards.

All of this is way too much for the largest Japanese business association Keidanren. The association demands that foreign business people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid may enter without quarantine. This is important to accelerate the economic recovery after the pandemic. The neighboring country of South Korea has allowed the possibility of exemption from quarantine since spring 2020. Only since this summer, however, has the regulation for vaccinated business travelers been less restrictive. The traveler must prove that a personal meeting with the inviting company is essential. The relevant ministry must approve the quarantine exception. The exemption is now usually issued within two weeks, says Martin Henkelmann,the President of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce in Seoul. But he complains about the bureaucratic effort and the inflexible procedure, which, for example, does not allow short-term changes to travel dates.

In Japan, Keidanren criticizes a particular hurdle. The island state only accepts the three vaccines from BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca for proof of Covid vaccination. The country has not approved any other substances against Covid. Anyone who has been vaccinated with Janssen or Chinese preparations can therefore not shorten the quarantine to three days. Japan effectively excludes Chinese business people. The government should accept all vaccines for entry that are recommended by the World Health Organization, demands Keidanren.

There is still some catching up to do in the high-tech country with its high cell phone density in Covid protection.

Although Japan has been vaccinating against Corona since February, the authorities are still working on a digital vaccination certificate.

The Keidanren trade association is calling for an internationally compatible solution.

Experience shows that this could overwhelm Japan's bureaucracy.