Travel Guidelines 2022: Can Malaysians Travel To Japan Now?

Eunis Ong

Last updated 14 Oct 2022

japan travel guidelines reopening borders malaysia

Photo Credit: @iamrottenapple (left)

Hey Japan, are you open yet?

While most countries have lifted their borders and eased travel restrictions in stages over the past few months, Japan's borders remained rather closed off, open only by a fraction for the entry of Japanese residents, select business travellers, and foreign students pursuing their studies in the country.

Most foreign tourists have been barred from entry since two years ago, and we know that people across the globe have their eyes set on the country's highly-anticipated reopening - well, at least we know we're part of that gang, a hearty bowl of ramen and a day of shrine-hopping just sounds so good right now. ⛩

[Update, 23 September 2022] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on 22 September that Japan will be fully reopening its borders on 11 October! This includes the removal of the cap on tourist numbers, resumption of visa-free travel, and allowing free individual travellers to return.

Time to hop on a flight after 2 years!

Who can travel to Japan now?

[Update, 1 June] In a mid-year announcement, Japan announced that they will be increasing their daily cap of arrivals from 10,000 to 20,000 from 10 June onwards. Also, people travelling from 98 countries and regions classified as "blue" (including Malaysia) will be allowed to travel to Japan without requiring on-arrival COVID testing or quarantine, even if you're unvaccinated.

[Update, 24 August] From 7 September onwards, fully-vaccinated travellers (booster dose also required) will be able to travel to Japan without needing to take a pre-departure PCR test. The country will also be removing the requirement to enter the country only by joining a guided tour, allowing more flexibility for individual travellers. Tourists will however still be required to arrange their visit through a travel agency.

Latest requirements to enter Japan (from 11 Oct):

Identify which category your country is listed under via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan's website. If you're travelling from Malaysia (listed under the list of "blue" countries), no on-arrival testing or quarantine will be required as long as you're fully-vaccinated (three shots required, including a booster shot).
[If not fully-vaccinated] Present negative results of a COVID-19 test done within 72 hours of departure
[For unvaccinated children] Unvaccinated children under the age of 18 are exempt from test and quarantine requirements as long as they travel with fully-vaccinated parents.
Install the MySOS App: all travellers are required to download the MySOS App to report their health condition and location after entering Japan.

Klook Tip: we'd highly recommend completing your pre-registration on the MySOS App at least 6 hours prior to your flight's scheduled arrival for it to be reviewed in time. Once you've completed the questionnaire and uploaded your passport and vaccination certificate (or COVID test results) on the app, the app screen will either turn green or blue. Simply flash your app at the immigration for clearance.

Travellers can refer to the official website of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the latest travel guidelines.

Update: Japan to expand list of accepted COVID-19 vaccines, now including Sinovac

In a statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, it was announced that along with the easing of travel restrictions from October 11, Japan will also be expanding its list of recognized COVID-19 vaccines to be in line with those approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation.

The country's list of recognized vaccines now include Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Convidecia, on top of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Bharat Biotech and Novavax. To be considered fully-vaccinated, travellers will have to have taken at least 3 doses of approved vaccines, booster shot included.

So... where can you travel to right now?

While Japan irons out its travel guidelines and contemplates welcoming tourists again, many countries have reopened their borders to Malaysians, and travel restrictions have been eased greatly over the past couple of weeks, with countries like Australia and Thailand announcing updated guidelines that include scrapping requirements for pre-departure PCR tests, and more!

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You can now travel to these countries (and more) quarantine-free: