How to get a COVID vaccine passport from a convenience store in Japan

In July a service was launched in Japan making it possible for residents to obtain a paper copy of the Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19, or so-called “vaccine passport,” from certain convenience stores and supermarkets.

The convenience store vaccination certificate issuance system was made available to those residents of Japan who are vaccinated against COVID-19 under the Japanese Vaccination Law (typically having received two doses or more of the vaccine) and who hold an individual my number identification card, a “my number card.” 

The system - jointly developed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Digital Agency - was launched on July 26 and was initially available at a limited number of pre-registered convenience stores, most of which were located in Hokkaido. 

Availability of the new system has continued to spread, however. As of August 11 vaccine passports could be obtained from select convenience stores and other stores in more than 1,500 municipalities across Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa. 

At the time of writing, however, it is not clear how a potential user can locate convenience stores or other stores nearby which can handle the service.  

Stores that can issue other official certificates to my number card holders can usually be located via this website - https://www.lg-waps.go.jp/ - which has yet to be updated with information regarding the vaccine passport issuance service.   

According to information from the health ministry dated July 14, 2022, the service was available at the Hokkaido-based Seicomart supermarkets, among others. Seven-Eleven convenience stores are set to start offering the service from August 17.  

How to get a COVID vaccine passport from a convenience store

The steps required to obtain a Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19, or vaccine passport, from a convenience store in Japan look to be fairly straightforward.

Paper certificates can be obtained, i.e. printed out, from the multifunctional copier machine / terminal at available convenience stores every day between 6:30 - 23:00. An issuance fee of 120 yen is charged per copy.  

In advance of trying to get a vaccine passport from a convenience store, the health ministry advises service users to check first whether or not the convenience store issuance service has been made available by the municipality in which they were residing at the time of being vaccinated. They should then check whether or not the convenience store itself can handle the issuance. 

In order to be able to check that the details displayed on the vaccine passport are correct, applicants are recommended to bring along the original vaccination coupons (Certificate of Vaccination for COVID-19) issued at the time of receiving each dose of a vaccine. 

Two types of Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19 are available in Japan - those for domestic use only and those for both domestic and international use.  

Rather unfortunately, in order to use the convenience store issuance service to obtain the vaccination certificate which also covers international use, applicants must have already applied for such a certificate in advance (on or after July 21, 2022) either in-person at their local government office or via the Digital Agency’s vaccination certificate app.   

A guide (of sorts) on how to get a COVID vaccine passport from a convenience store is available in Japanese from the website of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Below is our own translation of the health ministry’s guidance which details the 16 steps below, here: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000965437.pdf   

1) Begin the service by pressing the button "Administrative Service" (行政サービス) on the copier / terminal screen. 

2) Select: Certificate delivery (証明書の交付)

3) Select: Certificate delivery service (証明書交付サービス)

4) Place my number card in the card slot located on the copier. (The machine then checks whether or not the card can be used at that particular convenience store.)

5) Select Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19 (新型コロナワクチン接種証明書)

6) Agree to the terms and conditions (Agree / 同意する)

Some points to note within the terms and conditions in regards to where your information is being sent:  

The service transmits information attached to the card holder’s individual number - name, date of birth, gender, and address to the Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems, which takes measures to detect falsification of the information stored through the holder’s individual number and verify its authenticity.

The service user (you) agrees to transmit their individual number, name, and date of birth to the requesting municipality via the Vaccination Record System established and operated by the Digital Agency. (These will be used to locate your vaccination records.)

7) Enter the 4-digit PIN that you set upon receiving a my number card at the municipal office.

8) Remove my number card. (After this operation the card will no longer be required. Be careful not to leave it behind.) 

9) Select the city/town/village where you would like to apply. You will be asked to select the region, prefecture, and municipality (choose alphabetically or select a municipality), in that order. (The application is usually submitted to your municipality of residence at the time of vaccination - usually the municipality that issued the vaccination ticket.)

For those municipalities that do not provide the convenience store issuance service, buttons on the screen will be inactive. 

If using a different municipality's vaccination ticket for each vaccination, for example due to moving, it seems that an application will have to be submitted to each municipality in which you were residing when you received a dose of the vaccination.

10) Select certificate type - domestic use (日本国内用) / domestic and international use (日本国内用及び海外用).

11) Select the number of copies required. 120 yen per copy.

12) Final confirmation of the details displayed on the vaccination certificate to be issued.  

Check the vaccination record, passport number, and other information carefully for any errors. To correct any details such as passport information (name and passport number), or vaccination records, you will need to contact the municipality to which you are applying - corrections cannot be made at the convenience store itself. 

14) Certificate is printed.

15) Take your certificate. When the certificate is printed, an audible announcement will continue to play to prevent forgetting to pick it up. Press the button for the audio stop after taking the certificate.

16) Take the receipt issued. In the unlikely event of a printing defect, do not take the certificate home. Instead, immediately report it to staff at the convenience store or and receive a refund.

What might be the demand for the service?

(Does Japan's vaccine passport come into its own only during international travel or does it have domestic use, too?)

Prior to the launch of the convenience store issuance service there were two ways to apply for and obtain the Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19 in Japan:

One was to obtain a paper copy by submitting an application at the government office where you were registered as residing at the time of being vaccinated (so typically the office of municipality that issued vaccination coupon(s)). Obtaining a paper certificate is the only option available to people who do not hold a my number card. 

The other option - available only to my number card holders - was to apply for and obtain a digital vaccination certificate via the app from the Digital Agency.

Given that the new convenience store service is only available to my number card holders - the same people who can likely obtain a digital form of the certificate from the comfort of their own home - one wonders just how high demand will be for the service. 

*Author’s note - Despite holding a paper version of the Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19, on the rare occasions I’ve been required to show proof of vaccination (at some hotels in Japan over the last year or so) a photo taken with my smartphone of the original vaccination coupons has always sufficed. 

As its moniker might suggest, perhaps the vaccine passport comes into its own when it comes to international travel. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains a list of countries which recognize the Japan-issued Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19 as part of their entry procedures: https://www.anzen.mofa.go.jp/covid19/certificationlist.html 

For re-entry into Japan the Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19 is just one accepted form of proof of vaccination status. Others include the original vaccination coupons or certificates issued by the municipality which administered the vaccination. Entry / re-entry requirements are subject to change.

This page on the health ministry website details border control measures in regards to COVID-19: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/bordercontrol.html 

Again, given that it is only available to my number card holders, the convenience store service appears to offer no great, well, convenience.  

Perhaps my number card holders with a digital certificate would like a paper version as backup. That would sound perfectly sensible, in which case the new convenience store service might come in handy - even more so if no longer residing in the municipality where one was resident at the time of getting vaccinated.

It is still early days for the service however, and it is as yet not abundantly clear as to how accessible the service is or will become. 

As of June 30, 1,373,821 paper Vaccination Certificates of COVID-19 had been issued in Japan, according to health ministry data. 9,834,524 digital certificates had been issued as of August 14, according to the Digital Agency. 

How did you get a COVID vaccine passport? Does the new convenience store service sound like it will offer greater convenience in getting one of Japan’s Vaccination Certificates of COVID-19?

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