Japan opened up the border on November 8th, 2021, and closed it on November 30th, 2021 — the border was open only for 3 weeks. With the spread of new variant, it’s hard for anyone to guess when and how long Japan opens up the border. What can we do? — let’s get ready for the next opportunity.

Although the process and requirements of landing in Japan changes over time, we can plan ahead and prepare for required information based on what was previously requested. This article is for those newly entering Japan for business purposes.

Two ways of landing in Japan

As of November 29th, 2021, there were two ways of landing for those newly entering Japan.

1. Short-term business travelers (up to 3 months)
2. Long-term working permit holders (up to 5 years)

All people newly entering Japan for business purposes had to acquire an “approval letter” from one of the jurisdictions in Japan to get a visa. The jurisdiction will be different depending on your industry, and Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) lists the contact information of each jurisdiction.

A company/organization based in Japan can only submit applications for the “approval letter” and it has to provide guidance on the landing process in Japan for the business experts newly entering Japan, take care of them, and follow all the rules specified by MHLW.

For example, company founders planning to land in Japan for IT-related businesses would seek an approval letter from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) as the jurisdiction to approve their entry.

Process

Everyone thinks “visa = residential status,” but let’s understand what the process looks like by figuring out which office/jurisdiction stands for which process.

1. Short-term business travelers (up to 3 months) If your country is listed on this page under Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), you don’t have to apply for a residential status to the Immigration Bureau. What you need is the approval from MOFA — a “visa” from the closest Japan Embassy. If your country is not listed, you will need to apply for a working permit from the Immigration Bureau.

In addition to a “visa” from Japan Embassy, you will need to get the “approval letter” from one of the jurisdictions from the Government of Japan under the current border measures.

2. Long-term working permit holders (3 months to 5 years) Long-term working permits are given by the Immigration Bureau, and if the Immigration Bureau approves your activities in Japan, you will get a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE) to start your activity in Japan.

For long-term working permit holders, the process will be as follows:

A) apply for a CoE to Immigration Bureau (if you are abroad, you will need to hire a certified administrative scrivener to submit your CoE application to the Immigration Bureau)

B) Immigration Bureau issues your CoE after approving your activity in Japan

C) your administrative scrivener mails the CoE to your home address abroad

D) your sponsoring organization submits the application to one of the jurisdictions to receive an “approval letter”

E) you visit Japan Embassy with the CoE and the “approval letter”

F) Japan Embassy issues your “visa” to land in Japan

Many people think landing in Japan is one process, but at least three offices are involved as of now.

1. Immigration Bureau (under Ministry of Justice) issuing “CoE” to approve “residential status” and your activities under the status
2. One of the jurisdictions under the Government of Japan to approve your special entry permission via “approval letter”
3. MOFA/Japan Embassy issuing “visa” to approve your landing in Japan

Each jurisdiction in Japan is trying to shift the application process over to online from physical paper-based applications. METI was the first one to start accepting applications online.

Required information

Over time, the required information to acquire the “approval letter” has been changing, but

Your current residential address in abroad

• where you’re flying from before coming to Japan.

Which airport you’re landing in Japan

• you might need to stay in a designated hotel provided by MHLW depending on which country you are from.

Which date & time you’re landing in Japan

• basically your flight schedule.

Flight Number

• need all flight numbers if you transit somewhere else outside of Japan.

Address where you will stay for the first 14 days after you land in Japan

• and how you transfer from the airport or a designated hotel by MHLW to the new place that you self-quarantine.

Vaccination Certificates

• you have to be vaccinated for at least two times. As of December 4th, 2021, MOFA was approving the following vaccination record. The second vaccination passport will be approved if at least 14 days have passed after the date of second dose.

1. COMIRNATY / Pfizer
2. Vaxzevria / AstraZeneca
3. COVID-19 VaccineModerna / Moderna

Passport

• copy of your ID photo page

Pledge

• the latest form will be published on MHLW. The latest pledge is accessible from here (as of December 27th, 2021).

Itinerary

• your sponsoring organization must submit your itinerary. The itinerary must include:

a. the address you’re staying for the first 14 days

b. your activities during the 14 days (if you are visiting a company, which transportation to take from where to where, person/people that you are meeting with, how many hours you are meeting with them, etc.)

c. whether you are taking a PCR test to shorten the quarantine period

d. if you are taking the PCR test:

• d-1 : how to go to the clinic via which transportation
• d-2 : at what time you are leaving and coming back to your hotel

The usage of public transportation is prohibited for the first 14 days for anyone newly entering into Japan regardless of nationality (including Japanese citizens), and hiring a private driver (taxi is not approved since unspecified number of people are using taxi on the street) costs, so I presume all people decide to self-quarantine for the first 14 days.

These are what you need to newly enter Japan under the current border measures. Just hoping that some criteria will be eased by the time Japan opens up the border next time, and we can finally meet in person in 2022!

Seek More Advice on How to Navigate the Complexities of Japan Visa Pathways Startup Work Inc. based in Tokyo, leads in supporting Shibuya's Startup Visa. With bilingual support staff and extensive, practical experience working with startups, Startup Work Inc. provides a leading source for supporting individuals and startup businesses in Japan.

Connect with Miho and set up a consultation to further discuss how to acquire a Japan residence visa, or other matters related to living in Japan.