by Donald Wood
Last updated: 4:18 PM ET, Thu April 29, 2021
Japan is reportedly planning to introduce COVID-19 vaccine passports to make reopening international travel safer and more accessible.
According to KyodoNews.com, government sources said Wednesday the vaccine passports would be in the form of a smartphone app that travelers can scan at airports before boarding flights or when entering the country.
Officials said the hope is the coronavirus vaccine passports would help boost the return of business travel, something governments in the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have already started implementing.
Japanese minister Taro Kono said other countries have already started utilizing the vaccine passports to reopen travel, "so Japan will have to consider it too." To ensure non-vaccinated people aren't discriminated against, the app will also keep records of negative COVID-19 tests.
Japan's vaccine passport app will be connected to the Vaccination Record System, with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Foreign Ministry working to establish a rollout plan for the program.
Currently, Japan only permits citizens and foreign residents to enter the country, while foreigners must provide "special exceptional circumstances" and negative results for coronavirus tests taken within 72 hours before their departure.
Earlier this week, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Los Angeles office launched a new marketing partnership with Japan Airlines. It is the first major national marketing campaign with an airline since the start of the pandemic for the country.
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