General COVID-19 update in Japan

What is Japan’s COVID case now?

As of January 18th, the weekly average is 22,523 (record high), 377% compared to last week. In Tokyo, the weekly average is 4,598.
https://covid19.mhlw.go.jp/en/
https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/monitoring (in Japanese)

What is Japan’s vaccination rate now?
As of January 19th, 79.9% of the total population are completed the second dose. 78.6% for the first dose. Booster shot is finally available and 1.3% received booster shot.
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/ongoingtopics/vaccine.html
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/coronavirus/vaccine/progress/ (in Japanese)

Japan travel updates (Foreigners traveling to Japan – How restrictive entering country)

Are foreigners are allowed to enter Japan?
No. Foreign passport holders are restricted to enter Japan. There are some exceptions but all foreign visitors need visa (visa waiver is currently suspended).
HTTPS://WWW.MOFA.GO.JP/CA/CP/PAGE22E_000925.HTML

When Japan’s travel restriction will be lifted or loosened?
We don’t know. It depends on the combination of Japan’s progress of booster shot and new COVID cases, which is currently record high. 16 prefectures including Tokyo are have declared state of emergency through February 13th.

Does the government started talking about lifting the restrictions?
Yes or No. In November, Japan started accepting foreign business travelers and students with pre-approval basis (though the strict requirements and lengthy process prevented many companies and schools from applying). However, with the widespread Omicron cases, the government extended the ban of foreign travelers entering Japan at least until the end of February and it will be likely extended further unless the new cases are drastically decreased.

What are the requirements for those can enter Japan now?
Regardless of your vaccine status, 1) Negative proof of the COVID test taken within 72 hours before an international flight. 2) *10-day mandatory quarantine after arriving Japan, during which you are not allowed take public transportation, domestic flight, taxi and so on. 3) Installing required apps on your smart phone. The government entity will contact you via video chat etc. every day to make sure you are in your reported quarantine location.
*Travelers returning from a country or state where Omicron cases are confirmed are sent to a government-prepared hotel upon arrival for 3, 6 or 10 days strict mandatory quarantine.
HTTPS://JP.USEMBASSY.GOV/COVID-19-INFORMATION/

Japan travel updates (Japanese traveling from Japan to Overseas)

The number of Japanese traveling abroad has drastically declined since March 2020 due to COVID as well. In December 2019, 1.7M Japanese traveled oversea. The lowest number was April 2020 when only less than 4,000 people traveled. The number gradually increased since then and it was about 52,000 travelers in November 2021, still -96.8% growth compared to 2 years ago.
https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph–outbound–outgoing–transition
https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/

JAL/ANA update of flight operations in COVID-19

Japan Domestic
Domestic flight operation of JAL and ANA has recovered to nearly the pre-COVID level. In December 2021, JAL operated 91% of scheduled flight – it was the first time they recorded more than 90% since COVID hit the travel industry. In January 2022, JAL’s operation rate will be 97%. As for ANA, the flight operation in December 2021 is 86% and in January 2022 will be 95%.
JAL and ANA also announced the number of reservations made for the New Year holiday. JAL saw 0.98M reservations were made, 84.3% compared to 2019 and 64.8% increase since last year. ANA marked 1.08M reservations, 71% compared to 2019 and 12.3% increase since last year.

Source
JAL: https://press.jal.co.jp/en/
ANA: https://www.ana.co.jp/group/en/pr/
Aviation Wire: https://www.aviationwire.jp/