TOKYO, Sept 2 — The Japanese government said Thursday that it will revamp its COVID-19 airport quarantine system to allow arrivals from abroad to complete necessary procedures only with smartphones or other devices.
The government aimed to put the revamped system into service around mid-September, Jiji Press reported.
Currently, people arriving from abroad can register information about COVID-19 vaccination certificates and others on the MySOS website or app beforehand, making it unnecessary to submit paper documents at airport quarantine.
But documents related to passport information need to be scanned at airports upon entry into Japan.
The revamped system will allow passengers to register all information necessary for airport quarantine procedures in advance. Those who have registered the information will only need to show a quick response, or QR, code at airports.
Japan will also relax COVID-19 border control measures, exempting arrivals with certificates for three vaccinations from submitting the negative result of a COVID-19 test.
In addition, the country will raise the cap on the daily number of people allowed into the country to 50,000 from the current 20,000 and permit entry by overseas travellers on package tours without conductors.
The government hopes to prepare for an increase in visitors to Japan by simplifying airport quarantine procedures, officials said.
Japan “will ease (border control measures) further to realise smooth entry on a par with other Group of Seven nations,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference Thursday.
