India and Japan Announce Air Bubble Agreement

Last months, the Indian embassy in Tokyo announced that India and Japan are now part of an air bubble agreement wherein registration of passengers with the Indian embassy will no longer be required. 

Till date, India has formed such arrangements with 18 countries, including the UK, Bhutan, Qatar, Maldives Afghanistan, The USA Bahrain, Oman, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Ukraine, Nigeria, the UAE and Kenya. Under the air bubble agreement, special international passenger flights can be operated by their airlines to and from the respective territories, but under certain restrictive conditions due to the pandemic.

From November 2,&nbspdirect flights have begun operating between New Delhi and Tokyo. The Indian Embassy in Japan released a statement saying that passengers will no longer be required to register through them for international travel, and bookings should be done directly with the concerned airline.

International passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, special international flights have been allowed under the Vande Bharat mission to evacuate Indians stranded abroad. 

The Japanese government has also decided to lift its travel ban for China, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, Brunei and Vietnam. Meanwhile, Japan will ban travel from Myanmar and Jordan, where cases are on the rise.

Japanese nationals and foreigners with residency permits who travel abroad for up to seven days will be exempted from the two-week isolation and quarantine period, if virus detection tests upon return show a negative result, they do not use public transport for two weeks after returning, and if they submit their activity plans for two weeks.

The government is also considering allowing international travellers to enter Japan for business travel of up to three days if they submit proof of a negative test result and plans for their stay.