The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will establish a system for issuing via the Internet an electronic certificate giving the result of a COVID-19 test conducted for business travelers, the Sankei Shimbun learned on Sept. 12. Currently, most medical institutions issue a certificate in paper form. The ministry intends to establish an electronic certification system by the end of fiscal 2020.

In the Asian region, there has been a tendency to ease restrictions on businesspersons who need to travel internationally by shortening the quarantine period on the condition that a certificate indicating a negative test is issued before entering the country of destination. Many businesspersons are required to leave the country within 72 hours after their specimen was collected. However, it can take up to four days to obtain a certificate after collection, so speeding up domestic procedures has been an issue.

To support the acquisition of a certificate attesting to a negative test, METI will set up a website called the “COVID-19 test center for overseas travelers” as early as October to help people planning to travel overseas search for medical facilities and make an appointment with them for PCR testing. The ministry is considering a mechanism for using this site to send certificates from medical institutions to a smartphone app of a traveler in a form that matches the format of the country of destination.