From hot springs to anime to capsule hotels, Japan has it all. In the year 2019, a record 31.88 million tourists visited Japan for its iconic attractions. Given its years of history, culture, and delicious cuisine, it’s no wonder tourists from across the world went to Japan. 

Unfortunately, as the world came to a stop because of COVID-19, Japan was no exception.

Starting on January 31st, 2020, Japan banned foreigners from the Hubei province of China from entering. Unfortunately, many of Japan’s tourists come from China, resulting in a considerable decline in tourism. In addition, another 159 countries were not allowed entrance starting August 28th, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Consequently, Japan experienced a severe decline in tourism following these international restrictions. From 2019 to 2020, there was a 76.84% decline in tourism. The decrease in tourism affected small businesses that target tourists the most. Foreign expenditure in Japan went down from 4.81 trillion yen in 2019 to 0.41 trillion yen in 2020. 

Many businesses were looking forward to 2020 as the summer Olympics would bring in new revenue. However, when the pandemic struck, public opinion of the Olympics took a 180-degree turn. Fear of COVID-19 incited the public to protest against the 2020 Tokyo summer Olympics. 

Despite their concerns, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) still pushed for the Olympics despite the opposition of Japanese citizens. Many business owners, however, were hopeful that the high levels of expected tourism would increase sales and invested a lot of money to prepare their shops. Unfortunately for these shops, Japan chose not to allow foreigners to visit during this time. 

On September 1, 2020, Japan opened up to foreign residents, and later on October 1st, 2022, it allowed people hoping to move to Japan to enter the country. It wasn’t until June 10th, 2022, that foreign tourists were allowed to enter Japan. 

As of mid-June 2022, many tourists flocked to Japan eager to immerse themselves in Japanese culture and entertainment, only to discover that they were limited to the scope of their prepackaged tour. 

Sydney Lee ’23 “felt that it was still very restrictive and you weren’t able to get the full experience.”

At the time, tour groups of 8-12 people needed to strictly follow government-made tours. Wandering off or exploring on your own was forbidden. Such limitations take away from the charm of traveling. Often planning the trip is more rewarding than the actual trip. These tours take away from that aspect of traveling. These heavy restrictions left tourists unsatisfied and deterred future visitors.

Although Katrina Tablang ’23 understands the necessity of having “safety precautions in place, especially since Japan has a fairly high population density that would make it easier for viruses to spread,” she is unsure of whether she would “want to travel there during that time, mostly because it seems like it would be a lot more trouble than it would be to just go at some point in the future.”

 In addition to this, residents of all countries needed a visa to enter. Many countries, such as the U.S., U.K., and Canada, which were previously exempt from this pre-pandemic, must now follow this policy. 

Japan granted 98 different countries visas based on COVID-19 risks. There were three different categories: blue, yellow, and red. 

 Countries were given colored categories depending on their COVID-19 risk and infection rates. 

Countries with lower COVID-19 risks and higher vaccination rates, such as the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, and Italy, were categorized blue. They were exempt from vaccination, quarantining, and proof of negative PCR test. 

Countries from the yellow category, such as Belize, Bahamas, Haiti, Turkey, and Uruguay, must show proof of vaccination or quarantine with a negative PCR test. 

Countries from the red category must take a COVID-19 test and quarantine upon arrival. 

Despite these restrictions, many Japanese residents feared tourists would not follow COVID-19 protocols such as wearing masks. Recently, COVID-19 cases in Japan have increased for the first time in two months, causing many to worry that reopening will result in a new wave of Coronavirus cases. 

After Japan’s first reopening to foreigners on June 10th, 2022, Japan experienced a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases. COV-19 cases have gone from 127.07 million on June 10th to a whopping 1831 million on August 24th, 2022. Japan’s second reopening was no different. After their second reopening on October 11th, 2022, there was a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

Although Katrina Tablang ’23 understands the necessity of having “safety precautions in place, especially since Japan has a fairly high population density that would make it easier for viruses to spread,” she is unsure of whether she would “want to travel there during that time, mostly because it seems like it would be a lot more trouble than it would be to just go at some point in the future.”