Japan will lift most coronavirus border controls, including the requirement that entrants show proof of three vaccinations or a negative test before departure, starting Saturday when the country’s Golden Week holiday season begins and a large influx of foreign tourists is expected.

All participants with symptoms will still need to be tested for COVID-19 after arriving until May 8, and those who test positive will be placed in designated quarantine facilities, the chief cabinet secretary said. Hirokazu Matsuno, to reporters. From May 9, testing for patients with symptoms will be voluntary.

Japan will also drop a special measure that would subject visitors from mainland China to random tests on arrival that were implemented in late December when infections surged there, he said.

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The government had originally planned to implement the changes on May 8, when it will downgrade the official status of the coronavirus to a common infectious disease like seasonal flu, but decided to fast-track them for the holiday season from Saturday.

The Japanese government dropped its mask-wearing requirements in March, leaving it up to individual discretion. Most Japanese people still carry them, although they are now only recommended on crowded trains, hospitals and other public spaces, and near the elderly and other vulnerable people.

Currently, COVID-19 is classified as a class 2 disease along with SARS and tuberculosis, which allows the movement of patients and their close contacts to be limited and the government to issue emergency measures. Downgrading to class 5 will remove these rules.

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