Japanese government weighs vaccine passport for overseas travel

Mar 16, 2021 | News On Japan

Mar 16, 2021 (Nikkei) - Japan is reviewing the idea of vaccine passports as part of efforts to allow Japanese to travel overseas, Taro Kono, minister in charge of the inoculation program, said on Monday.

"If such passports become used globally, Japan would have to think about doing the same," he said during a parliamentary session.

The idea of vaccine passports has been floated in the European Union. Holders of these documents would be allowed to travel in the bloc freely if the EU does decide on the scheme.

Critics say, however, that such a requirement could lead to discrimination against those who are not vaccinated.

Ai Aoki, upper house member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, the largest opposition, voiced such fears. "I am concerned that such a passport would create an atmosphere where people who do not want to receive vaccination can be treated unfavorably," she said.

Kono stressed that he was not thinking about introducing such passports for travel within Japan and that the discussion was around certificates to allow overseas trips.

He said that a new government system, still under development, that will be employed to manage vaccination records can be used to issue vaccine passports.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.