Thank you for your query.
Q. How is the situation in Japan by Covid?
Compared to the past few months, the number of active cases in Japan has decreased significantly. In Tokyo, the number of new act...ivities has finally decreased to 200, which is a significant increase compared to last year.
The Government of Japan has decided to maintain a state of emergency in 10 prefectures nationwide until March 7 to improve the COVID-19 status throughout Japan.
As the number of new activities has decreased to less than 500, the state of emergency is expected to end in sequence.
In addition to this, the Pfizer vaccine has just been approved and the first vaccination has started on February 17th. Healthcare workers will be vaccinated first, planned by the Japanese government in the second half of March. Tickets will be shipped to the general public. All residents of Japan, including foreigners, are eligible for the free vaccine.
How is the flight movements from India to Japan?
A. Yes, the flight movement is currently active between India and Japan. More detailed information is as follows.
While India and Japan have agreed upon an "Air Transport Bubbles" (source taken from Ministry of Civil Aviation as of 22/02/2021) which means flights are operating, the individual must have a valid visa issued to board the flight. Now, the local Japanese Embassy/Consulate in India itself has halted new visa issuing. Therefore, the current 2020 batch students cannot receive a visa until after the local Embassy/Consulate reopens. If there are to be any updates to be made to immigration and travel, it will most likely take place after 7th March, 2021, after the declaration is lifted. There may be a slight time lag from when the declaration is lifted to when the Japanese government comes up with new policies.
Please continue to monitor the immigration and travel status through the following links, in case any new updates develop after this response.
https://www.civilaviation.gov.in/en/about-air-transport-bubbles
https://www.isa.go.jp/en/index.html
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(Source: https://www.civilaviation.gov.in/en/about-air-transport-bubbles)
EXCERPT FROM THE ABOVE LINK REGARDING INDIA-JAPAN RELATIONS
10. Japan
India has created an air bubble with Japan. Indian and Japanese carriers are now permitted to operate services between India and Japan and carry the following categories of persons on such flights:
A. From India to Japan
i. Stranded nationals/residents of Japan and foreign nationals holding valid Japanese visas subject to the border measures and travel restrictions imposed by the government of Japan at the time of travel; and
ii. Any Indian national holding any type of valid visa from Japan subject to the border measures and travel restrictions imposed by the government of Japan at the time of travel. It would be for the airlines concerned to ensure that there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Japan with the particular visa category before issue of ticket/ boarding pass to the Indian passenger.
B. From Japan to India
i. Stranded Indian nationals.
ii. All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding passports of Japan; and
iii. Foreigners (including diplomats), holding valid visa issued by an Indian Mission in any category covered under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines dated 30.06.2020 as amended from time to time.
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Is there any firm period we can start the Visa process? As per earlier indication, is April month firm for going to Japan?
A. No new visa process can start within India until the Japanese emergency declaration is over, which is 7th March, 2021. From after that, as mentioned, the Japanese government may issue new immigration protocols. As soon as the Japanese government allows the local embassies/consulates to issue visas, we will guide all students to apply, as well as guide the respective companies to book the flight ticket. It is difficult to say whether April is firm for going to Japan, but as soon as the visa and flights can be secured, we will be guiding students towards their journey to Japan.
I hope this was helpful!
Zenken Team
