THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN JAPANForeign Chambers Urge Prime Minister Sugato Engage with Foreign National Residents of JapanTOKYO – December 10 2020 - The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan, EuropeanBusiness Council and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan congratulate Prime Minister
Suga on celebrating two months in office.
With full appreciation of the challenges facing the Prime Minister as he works to control thespread of the novel coronavirus, revitalize the economy, build relationships with global leaders,and establish a policy direction, we jointly urge him to reflect the needs of the foreign national
residents of Japan in his policy agenda.
As has been widely reported in global media, when Japan established strict restrictions on
international entry and re-entry to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus it was alone
among G7 countries in its failure to distinguish between short-term foreign visitors andresidents of Japan with foreign passports seeking to re-enter the country. This decision madeJapan the only G7 country that refused to allow its residents with foreign passports to returnhome from overseas; a situation that continued from April 2020 until restrictions were relaxedin September 2020. Even now, non-Japanese residents of Japan are still subject to testing
requirements for re-entry that are not applied to Japanese citizens, which can be difficult tomeet in some areas of eligible countries.
We trust that this decision was made in the interest of controlling the pandemic and without
the intent to discriminate against foreign national residents of Japan. However, the unfortunate
result was serious damage to Japan’s reputation as a country open to global business,diminished interest in pursuing a future career in Japan among foreign students and young
professionals, and a deep loss of trust in the government of Japan by multinational firms andforeign national residents.
We believe that Prime Minister Suga can and will rebuild that trust. As the Prime Minister iswell aware, Japan needs to engage with the world and the world needs Japan. Demographic
trends in Japan mean growth opportunities for those Japanese firms who learn to compete inglobal markets with global talent, but challenging times for those who do not. The world’s

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quickly-changing geopolitical landscape needs Japan’s strong leadership in efforts to build asustainable global society. Among the changes required will be the acceptance of digital formsof documents for visa applications and similar procedures affecting foreign residents.
Therefore, as a first step to rebuilding trust, we respectfully ask the Government of Japan totreat foreign residents of Japan in the same manner as Japanese residents when it comes tonovel coronavirus testing requirements, conditions for re-entry to Japan and vaccinations. To
maximize the effect of this change in assuring potential future residents that it is worth thetime to invest in learning about Japan, we would suggest it be enshrined in law, but theimmediate first step can be accomplished by the Prime Minister’s direction to relevant
Ministries.
There are approximately 2.93 million residents of Japan who hold passports from othercountries, and this number will only increase. The talents and perspectives of foreign national
residents of Japan are drivers of economic growth and social vitality. Any policy agenda thatfails to incorporate the needs of all of Japan’s residents, regardless of nationality, will struggle
to enrich Japanese society and further damage Japan’s global reputation.
As foreign chambers of commerce, we stand eager to engage with Prime Minister Suga and hiscabinet, and will continue to work with Japanese policymakers and industry partners to makeour shared home, Japan, the inclusive, innovative, and strong global leader we know it can be.
Contact:
The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan
comms@accj.or.jp