Japan to end COVID-19 border controls before Golden Week holidays

Japan will lift its current COVID-19 border controls for all arrivals on Saturday in anticipation of an increase in travelers during the Golden Week holidays, the government said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the top government spokesman, said Friday that Japan will no longer require all entrants to present certification of at least three COVID-19 vaccination doses or a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure.

Japan had originally planned to end the border steps on May 8, the same day the legal status of the coronavirus will be downgraded to the status of comm...