Analog Japan's paper-only vaccine certificates worry airlines

Japan is set to start issuing paper certificates for coronavirus vaccination -- a slow rollout typical for a country struggling with digitization. And the lack of digital options has raised concerns among airlines eager to revive international travel. "Other countries are making strides in digital certificates, and quickly," said All Nippon Airways Executive VP Juichi Hirasawa. "Japan must not fall behind." The EU began offering digital vaccine certificates in July, allowing recipients to skip quarantines and other coronavirus travel restrictions within the bloc. While Japan will open applications for official proofs of vaccination on Monday, it will initially offer only physical copies. With global travel expected to begin recovering from a coronavirus-induced lull, airlines like ANA are now testing apps like the IATA Travel Pass as a way to verify if passengers are vaccinated. But they need government approval to officially accept these apps. Uploading vaccine records managed by a multitude of national and local authorities across the world will also pose a major challenge, especially when the documents are only available in paper as in Japan. Ideally, passengers would be able to show their vaccination status on these apps at check-in so they can skip COVID-19 restrictions at their destination. Doing so would require airlines and governments to sync up their records. ANA expects it will take at least a year to put the necessary frameworks in place. Paper certificates would complicate the effort because they are harder to adapt to different languages and easier to fake. To bring the Japanese government around, the Scheduled Airlines Association of Japan is currently lobbying authorities for an early rollout of digital passports. During a visit to Tokyo's Haneda Airport on June 4, Kazuyoshi Akaba, the minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, observed a demonstration of the digital certificate app touted by ANA.<br/>