Japan is considering widespread use of so-called commercial vaccine passports as part of efforts to regularize national economic and social activities that have long been stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a draft plan government.
These certificates will allow users to enter and use the stores and places of entry, and business operators are free to decide what kind of services they will offer and to whom they will provide those services, the draft says.
Mass inoculation with the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 begins in Osaka on August 23, 2021. (Photo of the pool) (Kyodo) == Kyodo
The plan, which will be presented at a government meeting of the COVID-19 working group as early as Thursday, says that with vaccine passports, users could get additional discounts and services.
“The use of vaccine passports will be widely accepted” in the country, he says.
However, the draft warned of inappropriate discriminatory behavior towards those who do not show vaccine passports, such as requiring vaccination of people to enter school and access a job.
The draft also prohibits companies from charging “exorbitant prices” to those who do not show vaccine passports.
Japan currently issues vaccine passports only for international travel. But the government plans to change this policy and digitize the system by the end of the year to try to expand its full use nationwide.
Certificates are official records issued free of charge by local municipalities showing that a person has been completely inoculated against COVID-19, with information such as name, passport number and date of vaccination.
Individuals wishing to obtain a certificate must submit them in person or by mail, including the application form, passport and vaccination tickets.
