As the storm begins to clear in the wake of COVID-19, many have been left wondering how the landscape has been changed in the travel industry and what they can expect when borders reopen. One new addition to the traveler’s accouterments along with passport and plane tickets will now include a vaccine passport.
If you plan to travel to Japan in the post-coronavirus vaccinated world, it will most likely be necessary for you to carry a vaccine passport from your country of origin. Japan, too, has plans to roll out its own passport.
Similar to an immunization record, the Japan-issued “passport” will contain physical certification that you have been vaccinated along with access to digital information. This data will also be available in Japanese and English, making international travel smoother.
The hope is that this new form of vaccine verification will shorten quarantine periods or eliminate them completely, according to government sources in Japan.
Certificate applications in Japan may begin as early as mid-to-late July. Applicants can expect a trip to their local government office to fill out physical documentation—although the government insists that it's working on a digital format. The passport will include some personal information about the holder, such as their name, birthdate, passport number, vaccination date, and the pharmaceutical of their vaccine.
With vaccinations beginning around Japan, it’s a relief to hear that the government has plans in place to help us all begin traveling again. Are you ready to get out of the house and see the world?
