Scott Morrison's "travel bubble" announcement leaves Aussies confused and deflated
Earlier this month, when Australian Prime Minster Scott Morrison floated the possibility of a travel bubble with Japan and South Korea, the news was met with a mix of approval and scepticism. On the one hand, the prospect of travel to Japan would be a relief to Japanese business owners and a joy for skiers who might finally be able to get back to their favourite resorts. On the other, it was not the first time the possibility had been raised, nor had there been any public comments from Japan to indicate a mutual intent to make things happen.
On Monday, Morrison confirmed that fully vaccinated Japanese and South Korean citizens will be allowed to enter Australia from December 1, an arrangement that will be “matching the travel bubble currently in place with Singapore”, according to a post on the PM’s Facebook page.
But the news has left people scratching their heads, with no apparent confirmation that reciprocal rights will be offered to Australians travellers, as has been the case with the Singapore travel bubble.
Without any further clarification from the PM’s office (you can read his press statement here) and very little reported from Japan, one can only assume at this stage that the “bubble” many Australians hoped would grant them entry to Japan is, in fact, a unilateral arrangement and not a bubble at all.
In an article published by the Australian Financial Review, Japan’s Ambassador to Australia Shingo Yamagami noted that the arrangement was viewed appreciatively by Tokyo as a goodwill gesture and that Australia’s decision would “hopefully accelerate the consideration on the part of [Japanese] authorities”.
Twitter users expressed their confusion:
Is the travel bubble btw Australia and Japan is unilateral or reciprocal? Why no body knows that.
— J No (@Endooo31215974) November 22, 2021
So the ????✈️ bubble is more of a one way thing given Japan’s rather rigid quarantine requirements. #Japan #Australia #travel https://t.co/2KF5c8bRvd
— Melanie Brock (@melaniebrockjpn) November 22, 2021
Our hope is that more information about the arrangement will surface in the coming days and that there will be some positive news for Aussie skiers. In the meantime, all bubble hopes have been well and truly deflated.
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November 24, 2021
We’ve been waiting to visit my wife’s mother in Japan for months. When I read about the travel bubble I was excited. Now the bubble has been burst. There is no travel bubble. Australia is letting Japanese tourists come to Australia. That’s it.
November 25, 2021
People should not use the word “bubble” unless it is reciprocal, no quarantine and should also be no PCR test required upon arrival.
November 25, 2021
Disappointing – c’mon Japan, please let us visit.
November 26, 2021
It still excludes tourists 🙁
International students, skilled workers and working holiday makers will be able to come to Australia from next week (1 December), as long as they are fully vaccinated.
November 26, 2021
Not according to the Facebook post above: “Australia will also welcome back fully vaccinated tourists from South Korea and Japan from 1 December as well, matching the travel bubble currently in place with Singapore.”
November 26, 2021
wait, does this mean that if I travel to Korea, I need to do the quarantine but when I come back from Korea to Australia, there’s no need to quarantine?