As pressure to ease travel restrictions continues to grow worldwide amid the gathering pace of vaccination campaigns, Japan has expanded its list of countries and regions that recognise its so-called vaccine passports.
St Vincent and the Grenadines are among the list of countries recognizing the passport, along with St Kitts and Nevis, making both nations the only two Caribbean countries to do so.
The official document confirms that a resident of Japan has been fully inoculated in the country, and it can be used as proof of vaccination for overseas travel, enabling holders to benefit from eased entry restrictions.
The details given on a vaccination passport include name, date of birth, passport number, type of vaccine, dates of inoculation and the municipality where it was issued.
As talks with other countries are continuing, the list of territories recognizing the official document is expected to expand.
However, all people entering Japan, regardless of whether they have received two doses of vaccines against COVID-19 in Japan or abroad, are still required to self-isolate for 14 days upon entry to Japan, undergo tests for COVID-19 on arrival and avoid using public transport.
Depending on the region where someone arrives from, additional measures such as a mandatory stay in a government-designated facility may be required as part of the two-week quarantine.
Other countries and regions that have recently begun to recognize Japan’s vaccine passports are: Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, Lithuania, St. Kitts and Nevis,Thailand’s islands of Phuket, Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan and Ko Tao, Estonia, Belize, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Slovakia.
