TRAVEL, SAFETY, AND FAIRNESS ACCJ calls for equal treatment of all residents as restrictions hamper business recovery By C Bryan Jones
For non-Japanese passport holders who work or run businesses in Japan, border restrictions meant to control the spread of Covid-19 have presented a hard choice: stay in Japan or risk temporarily losing your right to live here. Some 208,000 non-Japanese residents have been stranded abroad, and the hard line stance that most foreign residents—even those with permanent residency status—cannot reenter the country is disrupting lives and tarnishing the nation’s image as a welcoming place for global business.
Japan put border protections in place on April 3, and as of July 24 bans entry of foreign travelers arriving from 146 coun tries or regions. Those “who will arrive in Japan with a flight via any of those 146 countries or regions which are subject to denial of permission to entry, with a purpose of refueling or transit, will also be denied to enter Japan in principle. This will apply regardless of whether they have entered those countries or regions or not,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs border enforcement measures to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. The measures also state that “all nationals arriving from all regions are called upon to wait 14 days at a location designated by the quarantine station chief and to refrain from using public transportation until the last day of August.”
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Of course it is necessary to guard against the spread of Covid-19, but the same restrictions are not being applied to Japanese citizens. It is this unequal application of rules meant simply to contain a virus that has many in the busi ness community concerned. The government has indicated a willingness to loosen the reins, and exceptions and new procedures have been announced in recent weeks, but most agree that it is still too little to address the real problem. RAISING THE ISSUE On July 7, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) expressed concerns regarding the limitations on reentry in its second official statement on the matter. “The ACCJ understands and supports Japan’s efforts to pro tect itself from further spread of the virus, including Japan’s decision to enforce a mandatory 14-day quarantine on those returning to Japan from countries where the risk is greatest. We also recognize the progress in clarifying the conditions and criteria for, and the process under which, foreign residents of Japan may receive permission to reenter Japan for humani tarian reasons,” the chamber wrote. “We are concerned, however, that the prohibition currently in place on the entry into Japan of foreign nationals who have a permanent abode, family, and work base in Japan is detrimental to Japan’s longterm interests, in particular as to Japan’s attractiveness as a place to invest and station managerial employees with regional responsibility.” It is this category of those who live in and work in Japan— who are raising families and own companies here—that is at the core of the debate. Even someone who has been a permanent resident for 30 years, contributing the same tax money to
