During the covid-19 pandemic, Japan has been permanently closed to tourists.
For some periods of time, even foreign residents and spouses of Japanese national have been banned from entering.
This extreme policy is coming to an end with japan reopening it’s borders to tourists on a trial basis on 25th May 2022 as part of small tour groups. In the trial the tour guide is responsible for making the foreigners wear masks and sanitise.
as of early June 2022, this trial is expanding with up to 20,000 tourists allowed to enter per day as long as they are part of a tour with a tour guide.
Japan’s extreme conformist behaviour with ubiquitous mask wearing, despite it not being law, has kept coronavirus cases to one of the lowest in the world.