30,000 yen and 1,900 yen… Why is there such a difference in the cost of overseas travel inspections?

As the number of new cases of the new coronavirus in Japan has continued to decline, the number of overseas business trips from Japan, which had been held back in the past, has been on the rise. However, it turned out that the PCR test at the time of departure from Japan cost 30,000 yen in some places and 1,900 yen in others, depending on the location of the test, even though they were in the same airport.

Journalist Kumiko Kato, who was on a business trip to the U.S. for about a month from late October, reports in detail based on her own experience.

The author left for the U.S. on October 27th to cover automobile-related events and other matters, and stayed in the U.S. for about a month before returning home.

The direction and types of tests required for overseas travel vary depending on the country of travel, but from November 8, a “Certificate of Vaccination (two doses)” issued by the local government for overseas travelers and a “Negative Certificate” from either a PCR test or a quantitative antigen test conducted within three days prior to departure are required for entry into the United States. A “negative certificate” based on either a PCR test or a quantitative antigen test conducted within three days prior to departure is now required.

When I left Japan in late October, only the “negative certificate” was required, but I had heard that a vaccination certificate is required when eating at restaurants, so I decided to obtain one. The vaccination certificate from the local government was free of charge, but to get a negative certificate, you need to take a quantitative antigen test or PCR test for a fee. When I looked up how much it would cost, I was surprised to find out that the cost of the test plus the issuance of the certificate was much higher than I had imagined, ranging from 15,000 yen at the lowest to about 50,000 yen at the highest.

I found a clinic in Yokohama City that offered a test (antigen test) for 3,000 yen + issuance of a negative certificate for 5,000 yen = 8,000 yen, and made an appointment there. The day before the test, I found out that there was an even cheaper antigen test available at the test center in Haneda Airport run by the Kinoshita Group for 1,900 yen.

Kinoshita Group New Covid-19 PCR Test Center (Haneda Airport Terminal 1)

Express PCR test (30 minutes): 7,900 yen (tax included)

Express PCR test (30 minutes): 7,900 yen (tax included) PCR test (minimum 4 hours): 2,000 yen (tax included)
If you plan to board on the same day, the PCR test alone is not available. If you plan to board on the same day, PCR test alone is not available.

Quick test (quantitative antigen test, 30 minutes) 1,900 yen (tax included)

Quick test (antigen quantification test + PCR test): 3,300 yen (tax included)

The price may differ depending on the time it takes to get the test results, but in any case, the price is a staggering amount. Incidentally, the PCR test center for overseas travelers at Toho University, also located in Haneda Airport, charged 38,500 yen for an English negative certificate and PCR test as of late October, and although the price was lowered to 30,000 yen on November 1, the difference in price is about 15 times.

Is there any problem in entering the U.S. with a test that costs 1900 yen? After doing some research, I found some tweets saying that they were able to leave Japan without any problems even with a negative certificate from the Kinoshita Group’s low-cost test, so I cancelled my reservation for the 8,800 yen antigen test and headed to the Kinoshita Group’s testing center in Haneda Airport on October 25, two days before my departure, with my “vaccination certificate” just in case. On October 25, two days before my departure from Japan, I went to the Kinoshita Group’s inspection center in Haneda Airport with my “vaccination certificate” just in case.

Two days after the inspection, I was able to leave the country safely by simply showing the certificate at the Delta Air Lines airport counter. After arriving at the Seattle airport in the U.S., it took longer than usual to go through immigration, but the “Certificate of Vaccination” I brought with me was never asked for when entering the U.S.

What is the reason for the cheap inspection?

Why did it take up to 20 times longer to get a negative certificate for the same test in the same airport? After entering the U.S. safely, I was even more curious, so I took a look at the posts on social networking sites, mainly from people who were planning to travel to the U.S. I found many posts such as, “It is difficult to use the Kinoshita Group’s certificate with some airlines,” and “Japanese airlines are not flexible, so the Kinoshita Group’s certificate is not acceptable…”. I wonder if this means that different airlines accept different certificates for the same trip to the US.

When I checked with Delta Air Lines before I boarded, they answered that there was no problem with the negative certificate from the Kinoshita Group, and they also announced this on their official Twitter page. So what about Japanese airlines?

All Nippon Airways (ANA) public relations

In the case of ANA, the customer’s negative certificate will be checked at the check-in counter, so there is no problem with using Japanese. In addition to the name, we need information that can identify the individual, such as the date of birth and passport number, so in principle, a negative certificate without those information is not accepted. However, since there are various forms of negative certificates, a negative certificate that does not include the date of birth or passport number (under the tree) may be valid at the discretion of the person in charge if the individual can be identified in another way.

Japan Airlines (JAL) Public Relations

Before boarding a flight to the U.S., airlines are required to comply with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirements in order to confirm the vaccination and testing status of passengers. In principle, we comply with this requirement.

A negative certificate must contain information that identifies the individual. The CDC states that a negative certificate must contain information that identifies the individual: the individual’s name and at least one additional piece of information (date of birth or passport number). In addition, the certificate can be in Japanese.”

From the responses of the two companies, it seems that it is not necessarily the case that the Kinoshita Group’s certificate is not acceptable. So what is it that is causing the difference? When I asked medical professionals, they told me that the price changes drastically depending on whether or not a doctor is directly involved in the diagnosis before the test and in delivering the test results.

In the case of tests conducted by clinics and hospitals, doctors are basically involved in the diagnosis and results of the test, such as conducting a medical interview before the test. The price of the PCR test for asymptomatic people is necessarily high because it is not covered by insurance. The Kinoshita Group’s tests are supervised by a medical corporation, but basically only the test results are given, so the cost of the tests can be set much lower. Accuracy shouldn’t be a problem.”

At the Toho University Haneda Airport Terminal 3 Clinic at Haneda Airport, doctors dispatched from the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Omori Hospital conduct medical interviews to confirm health conditions before conducting tests for the new coronavirus.

Under the guidance of a physician, strict measures are taken to prevent contamination, and testing is conducted using testing equipment and reagents approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. As of November 1, the price of the travel negative certificate has been revised (lowered) due to the automation of some of the processes involved in the preparation of the travel negative certificate. The price has been reduced.

He declined to say whether there was a possibility of lowering the cost of the test further, given the current situation where people are able to leave Japan even with the low-cost Kinoshita Group test.

On the other hand, when I checked with the person in charge of reception at the Kinoshita Group’s inspection center, I received the following answer.

The negative certificate issued by our testing center contains only your name, the date of the test, the test result, and the test method. Please contact your airline or the immigration office of your destination country to find out if you can travel with this information.

In Kinoshita’s opinion, although the “negative certificate” I received was written in English, it did not include my passport number or date of birth, so it was not an “official” certificate at this time. The official page of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the requirements for a “negative certificate,” which can be in any format, but requires the following information: name, date of birth, test results, test date, and test method. Since Kinoshita’s negative certificate does not contain the information that the CDC requires, such as date of birth and passport number, it cannot be announced as an “official certificate” at the moment.

However, in my case, the “negative certificate” required to enter the U.S. was actually checked at the airline counter when I checked in for my departure from Japan, and I was not asked to check it at the airport after my arrival. Therefore, an English certificate is not necessary for confirmation in Japan, and it is possible to leave Japan with a Japanese certificate. In some places, the fee for issuing a negative certificate is double or triple that of a Japanese certificate (3,000 yen in Japanese, 5,000 to 10,000 yen in English, etc.), which may be one of the reasons for the difference.

A spokesperson for the Kinoshita Group continued, “We have a number of hospitals, liaison offices, and other facilities within the group.

We have hospitals, renovation business, real estate business, antimicrobial business, etc. within the group, and we are able to provide a highly accurate testing system at a low price by drastically reducing costs in the preparation stage. We have also been able to keep costs down by signing long-term preferential contracts with reagent and material manufacturers. Above all, we believe that this business is a social contribution project, and we provide tests without regard to profit.

Regarding test accuracy, our PCR test is a genetic test using the real-time PCR method. In addition, in order to improve the accuracy of the test, we use two types of testing equipment approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to conduct a double test. The testing equipment is the same as that used in medical institutions, and the laboratory is designed and sanitized in accordance with medical facilities based on the supervision of Wako-kai Medical Corporation and its knowledge of the design and construction of medical facilities. The laboratory that tests the specimens is registered as a “sanitary laboratory” designated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Incidentally, during the Tokyo Olympics, the Kinoshita Group conducted PCR tests on athletes and officials. As the aforementioned medical professional pointed out, the fact that the group’s tests are accurate is probably the reason why they are able to leave Japan and enter the US.

Since November 8, the waiting period after entering (or returning to) Japan has been shortened from 10 to 3 days if the application is submitted and various conditions are met. In addition, from the 17th, a copy of the vaccination certificate will not be required at the time of application, and from the 22nd, it will be possible to apply electronically for documents necessary for the mitigation measures, such as pledge forms and activity plans. Under these circumstances, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of departures from Japan for business purposes, especially from the U.S., but a negative certificate before departure will remain a must requirement for the time being.

Since the conditions for entry into Japan change depending on the country you are traveling to, it is always a good idea to obtain the latest information and check it yourself. Furthermore, although there were rumors that Japanese airlines are strict in their screening procedures, there are many cases of people being able to leave Japan with a “negative certificate” from the Kinoshita Group, as I have written in this article. It is my personal opinion, but I think it would be smoother if you bring your driver’s license or my number card along with your passport when you leave the country so that you can be “identified in another way.