It¡¯s hard to list the stories of every person still stuck outside of Japan due to the country¡¯s border policies, but two of them show just how complicated the situation can get.

Philip, a long-time resident of Japan who spoke on condition of anonymity, left Nagano for the Philippines for what was supposed to be a week-long holiday in March. As the coronavirus spread to Southeast Asia, he got stuck on the island he was staying on for several weeks.

In mid-April, he caught a government-sponsored flight to his native Australia, where he has been waiting while trying to get back to Japan.