Saturday’s Yomiuri led with a report saying that the GOJ has decided to develop guidelines for the use of its planned vaccine certificates at domestic commercial facilities. The paper wrote that although the GOJ had planned to issue such certificates only for overseas travel, it is now inclined to allow their use at restaurants and shops in Japan in response to requests from the Keidanren and other business lobbies that domestic use be allowed for the purpose of boosting domestic consumption. The GOJ is planning to urge business operators not to put people without certificates at a disadvantage. 

In a related development, Kyodo News reported this morning that Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato said on an NHK TV program on Sunday that Japan will start accepting applications for vaccine passports from July 26 for people who have been fully inoculated against COVID-19 to travel internationally. Kato reportedly added that the government will consider whether to use such certificates for domestic economic activities in response to a request from business circles.