Japanʼs Vaccination Certificate of COVID-19 for international travel

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

1. Overview

Since July 26, 2021, the Japanese Government has been issuing vaccination certificates of COVID-

19 without 2D barcode to those who need the certificate for international travel. Starting from

December 20

, 2021, the government issues vaccination certificates with 2D barcode, for

international travel as well as for domestic use in Japan. The certificate is issued as an official proof

of COVID-19 vaccination to those who are vaccinated at each municipality under the Japanese

Vaccination Law.

2. Form of the vaccination certificates

The vaccination certificates are available in the following forms:

Form of certificate

barcode

Type of document Issuance period

1 Digital certificate Yes via mobile phone App (iOS/Android) Dec 20, 2021-

2 Paper certificate Yes normal paper Dec 20, 2021-

3 Paper certificate N/A anti-counterfeit paper Jul 26, 2021

-Dec 19, 2021

*Samples of certificates are shown in attachments (A) through (C).

While it is expected that most international travelers will use the certificate with 2D barcode after

December 20

, there will be some travelers who use the paper certificate without 2D barcode

during the transition period. Please note that the certificate issued in former formats remains valid

as an official proof of vaccination.

3. Specification of 2D barcode

After December 20

, 2021, the Japanese Vaccination Certificate will be issued with 2 types of 2D

barcodes. The barcodes are generated based on the following international standards:

(A) for international travel:

ICAO VDS-NC standard

(B) for domestic use in Japan & international travel:

SMART® Health Cards standard

(A)

(B)

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

*ICAO VDS-NC (Visible Digital Seal Non-Constraints) is a standard for digital health certificates

used for cross-border air travel, specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It

utilizes ICAOʼs trust framework (such as Public Key Infrastructure), which is used for e-Passports

around the world today.

*SMART® Health Cards is a standard for digital health certificates specified by the Vaccine

Credential Initiative (VCI). For people who provide passport information, the certificate shows the

passport holderʼs name in English as well as in Japanese, so that it can be also used outside Japan,

wherever SMART® Health Cards is accepted.

Currently, SMART® Health Cards are accepted in

Canada, North Macedonia, and in much of the United States.

[Data elements of the certificate]

*Data set which is included in 2D barcode of the vaccination certificate is defined in charts (D) and

(E) of this document. It is consistent with the requirements specified by ICAO VDS-NC and SMART®

Health Cards.

for international travel for domestic use in Japan &

international travel

Specification ICAO VDS-NC (ver1.1) SMART® Health Cards

Data elements on

paper certificate

 Name (in English/Japanese)

 Date of birth

 Nationality/Region

 Passport number

 Date of vaccination

 Vaccine type

 Manufacturer

 Product Name

 Lot number

 Country of vaccination

 Certificate issuer

 Certificate identifier

 Issue date

As shown on the left

Data elements in

2D barcode

 Issuing Country

 Name (in English)

 Date of birth

 Passport number

 Certificate identifier

 Vaccine or prophylaxis

 Vaccine brand

 Date of vaccination

 Dose number

 Country of vaccination

 Administering centre



Vaccine batch number

 Issuer

 Name (in Japanese/English)

 Date of birth

 Vaccine code (Vaccine name &

Vaccine brand)

 Date of Vaccination

 Vaccination Authority



Vaccine lot number

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

4. Authentication of the vaccination certificate

 Authenticate the vaccination certificate for ICAO VDS-NC:

The barcode signer certificate included in the 2D barcode itself can be used for authentication

purposes. The barcode signer certificate can be fully verified using the Country Signing

Certificate Authority (CSCA) certificate, which can be shared through the ICAO Public Key

Directory (PKD).

 Authenticate the vaccination certificate for SMART® Health Cards:

Because SMART® Health Cards are based on an open standard and can be issued by anyone,

it is important to know who issued a given SMART® Health Card. In order to verify that the

certificate is issued by a trusted issuer, the verifier can use the CommonTrust Network* or the

VCI Directory.

*The CommonTrust Network is managed by the Commons Project Foundation. The inclusion criteria for

SMART® Health Card Issuers and Health Data Sources in the CommonTrust Network are defined in

coordination with the VCI Steering Committee with broad community input. To confirm that a SMART®

Health Card is valid and the issuer is part of the CommonTrust Network, you may also use the free SMART®

Health Card Verifier App as well as the free App provided by the Japanese government.

5. COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate Application

A free App called “COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate Application” is provided by the Japanese

government to download and/or present the Japanese Vaccination Certificate as well as to verify a

2D barcode on the certificate. The app is available for free for iOS and Android.

[System Requirements for Japanʼs “COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate Application”]

・Smartphone with NFC (Type B) chip

・iOS 13.7 or later

・Android 8.0 or later

Other Apps which are compatible with ICAO VDS-NC or SMART® Health Cards (e.g. Smart® Health

Card Verifier) may be used to verify the vaccination certificate.

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

6. Frequently asked questions

Q1) Are there any differences between the certificate for international travel and the

certificate for domestic use in Japan?

Both certificates basically provide identical vaccination records of the certificate holder. The 2D

barcode for international travel (ICAO VDS-NC) contains the holderʼs passport number and

their name only in English. The 2D barcode for domestic use (SMART® Health Cards) does

NOT contain the passport number, but if passport information is provided at the timing of

application, the barcode contains the holderʼs name in English as well as in Japanese.

Q2) Is the certificate valid in both paper and digital form?

Yes, the certificate is available in paper form as well as in digital form on the app, and both

certificates are valid as a proof of vaccination.

Q3) Can a person have multiple vaccination certificates?

A person can have multiple certificates without any limitation. For those who are vaccinated

at a different site for each dose, they are expected to have multiple certificates issued by each

municipality or authority.

Q4) How can I tell if the certificate holder is fully vaccinated?

Japanʼs Vaccination Certificate simply presents the holderʼs vaccination history. The

determination of whether a certificate holder is fully vaccinated is up to the decision of each

state where the holder is travelling.

Q5) Is there any expiration date to the certificate?

Japanʼs Vaccination Certificate itself has no expiration date

because it simply shows the records

of the holderʼs vaccination history.

Q6) How can I verify authenticity of the certificate?

The certificate is signed with a digital signature using a private key. Authenticity of the

certificate can be verified by a public key, contained in the barcode itself or provided by the

signer.

Q7) Where do I find verifier apps to scan the barcode?

A mobile app called “COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate Application” that can read and

authenticate Japanʼs Vaccination Certificate will be available for free for iOS and Android.

Other apps compatible with VDS-NC or SMART® Health Cards may be uses for verification.

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

(A) Sample of paper certificate with 2D barcode (issued from December 20

, 2021)

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

(B) Sample of digital certificate with 2D barcode (issued on or after December 20

, 2021)

[Home]

[Certificate Details]

*Certificate for

international

travel

*Certificate for

domestic use

in Japan

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

(from July 26, 2021) (from Dec 1, 2021)

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

(D) Data set of ICAO VDS-NC specification

# Element

Required MaxSize

Content Example

1 "data"

Data Zone

2 "hdr"

Header Zone

3 "t" Type(t)

○ Type is set to "icao.vacc" "icao.vacc"

"v" Version(v) ○ integer

Version number of PoV (Proof of Vaccination) 1

5 "is"

IssuingCountry(is) ○ Three letter code identifying the issuing state

"JPN"

6 "msg" Message Zone

"uvci" UVCI(uvci) ○

12 Unique Vaccination Identifier "6U5RSWMBASG2"

8 "pid" PersonIdentification(pid) Object

Person Identification

9 "n" Name(n) ○ 39

Family name_First name "MIYAKE SHOTA"

10 "dob" Date of birth(dob) ○

10 YYYY-MM-DD "1991-02-18"

11 "i" UniqueIdentifier(i) ○

11 Passport number "TK0000000"

12 "ai" AdditionalIdentifer(ai) ○ 24 Any other document number at discretion of issuer "JPN00000120210801000001"

13 "ve" VaccinationEvent(ve) Array Vaccinaiton Event

14 "des" Vaccine or Prophylaxis(des) ○ 6

Vaccine or vaccine sub-type:

ICD-11 Extension codes

Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna: ”XM0GQ8"

AstraZeneca: "XM9QW8"

15 "nam" Vaccine brand (nam) ○ Medical product name

Pfizer/BioNTech: "COMIRNATY"

Moderna: "COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna"

AstraZeneca: "Vaxzevria"

16 "vd" VaccinationDetails(vd)

Array Vaccination Details

17 "dvc" Date of vaccination(dvc) ○ 10

YYYY-MM-DD "2021-03-01"

18 "seq" Dose number (seq) ○

2 Vaccine dose number "1"

19 "ctr" Country of vaccination(ctr)

○ 3

Three letter code of the state where the holder is

vaccinated

"JPN"

20 "adm" Administering centre(adm) ○

20 The name of the vaccination authority "MHLW_Gov_of_JAPAN"

21 "lot" Vaccine batch number (lot) ○ 20 Vaccine Lot Number "1234-5678"

22 "sig" Signature Zone

23 "alg" SignatureAlgo(alg) ○ Signature Algorithm: ECDSA with SHA256 "ES256"

24 "cer" Certificate(cer) ○ Signer certificate（base64url）

25 "sigvl" SignatureValue(sigvl) ○ Signature value signed over the data

Ver1.1 (December 10, 2021)

(E) Data set of SMART® Health Cards specification

# Required MaxSize Content Example

1 "iss" ○ Issuer

https://

vc.vrs.digital.go.jp/issuer

2 "nbf" ○ Timestamp issue　（Not before) 1623928550.92200

3 "vc"

4 "type" ○

"https://smarthealth.cards#health-card",

"https://smarthealth.cards#immunization",

"https://smarthealth.cards#covid19"

"https://smarthealth.cards#health-card",

"https://smarthealth.cards#immunization",

"https://smarthealth.cards#covid19"

5 "credentialSubject"

6 "fhirVersion" ○ Version of FHIR "4.0.1"

7 "fhirBundle"

8 "resourceType" ○ "Bundle" "Bundle"

9 "type" ○ "collection" "collection"

10 "entry" Array

11 "fullUrl" ○ "resource:0" "resource:0"

12 "resource"

13 "resourceType" "Patient" information "Patient"

14 "name" ○ Array Name

15 "use" ○

Name type

"usual": Japanese name

"official": English name as in Passort

"usual"

16 "text" △ Full name

"SMITH JANE"

17 "family" △ Family name (UTF-8)

"三宅" or "MIYAKE"

18 "given" △ Array Given name (UTF-8)

"翔太" or "SHOTA"

19 "birthDate" ○ Date of birth: "YYYY-MM-DD" "1991-02-18"

20 "fullUrl" ○ "resource:1" "resource:1"

21 "resource"

22 "resourceType" Vaccination record "Immunization"

23 "status" ○ Status

"completed"

24 "vaccineCode" ○ Vaccine code

25 "coding" Array

26 "system" ○ "http://hl7.org/fhir/sid/cvx" "http://hl7.org/fhir/sid/cvx"

27 "code" ○

Vaccine Product

"207":Moderna

"208":Pfizer/BioNTech

"210":AstraZeneca

"208"

28 patient

29 "reference" ○ "fullUrl" pf "Patient" information "resource:0"

30 "occurrenceDateTime" ○ Date of vaccination: "YYYY-MM-DD" "2021-03-01"

31 "performer" Array

32 "actor"

33 "display" ○ Vaccination authority "MHLW_Gov_of_JAPAN"

34 "lotNumber" ○ Vaccine lot number "1234-5678"