A syringe with a dose of vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will be displayed on March 5, 2021 at Komagome Hospital in Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center in Tokyo. Yoshikazu Tsuno / Pool via REUTERS
Japan’s icy COVID-19 vaccination system is causing some foreign residents to consider flying to other countries to be vaccinated, as the pandemic is rising again with no shots in sight for everyday people.
Premier Yoshihide Suga negotiated with Pfizer Inc chief executive on Saturday to secure more vaccine doses, which are now expected to be enough for all residents by September. This is well after the scheduled start of the Tokyo Olympics and far behind the pace of most major economies.
Japan only began vaccinating its significant elderly population this month, and health experts believe it could take until winter or longer for most of the general population to gain access to the shots.
It is unclear how many foreigners fly from Japan to get shots, but it is a very important topic on social media and in business circles.
“I can confirm that I have heard of drivers going to their home countries for vaccines,” said Michael Mroczek, president of the European Business Council in Japan. The number of people doing this is limited because it is essential to drive in quarantine when traveling to Japan.
Marc Wesseling is one long-term foreign resident who could not wait any longer. The co-founder of an advertising agency in Tokyo flew to Singapore this month, where his company has an office, partly to get the photos so he can visit his parents in the Netherlands safely.
“I love the country and wish them all the best,” Wesseling said of Japan from his quarantine quarters in Singapore. “They’re not the fastest. I think a lot of people are frustrated, especially when you want the Olympics and everything. Come on guys. Let it happen. The whole world does it. Why do you have to wait?”
Japan has vaccinated about 1% of its population, compared to 2.9% in South Korea, which started later, and at least 40% in both the United States and Britain, according to a Reuters tracker.
The Maldives will soon offer shots to visitors as part of a “visit, vaccination and holiday” campaign, the popular Indian tourism minister in the Indian Ocean told CNBC last week.
Japan prevents tourists from entering the country, and it is not easy for residents to be vaccinated overseas and return. A two-dose treatment will take at least a few weeks, often longer, and Japan has a two-week quarantine for people entering the country, even if they have been vaccinated.
“If you want to go back to your homeland for vaccination, we are fine,” Taro Kono, Japan’s head of vaccination, said on Friday. “Some countries have a higher COVID-19 rate, so you may want to consider what is safer for your health.”
Representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Service did not immediately respond with comments.
Japan’s leading health experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has started a fourth wave.
In ten prefectures, quasi-emergency measures have been put in place and the western metropolis of Osaka on Tuesday requested a full emergency declaration amid a rebound in cases driven by mutant variants of the virus. Tokyo could follow up later in the week with a similar request, local media said.
Lauren Jubelt thought about going home to Florida to get the shots, but eventually decides that it’s not worth the risk of getting caught overseas if Japan closes its borders.
“I’m frustrated when I see my family in the US getting their vaccine,” said Jubelt, who works in digital marketing in Osaka.
“We do not even have a fixed date on when we can get it here and business is increasing again.”
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