Source Policy

Purpose

Track preferred sources of truth for Japan-related facts and recurring research.

When to Use

Use this page when deciding where to verify current information or where a future page should point.

Source Policy

• Government and entry:
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa and entry guidance: https://www.mofa.go.jp/
  • Visit Japan Web: https://services.digital.go.jp/en/visit-japan-web/
  • Japan Customs passenger guidance: https://www.customs.go.jp/english/passenger/
  • Medication import checks: https://www.ncd.mhlw.go.jp/en/application2.html
• Safety, weather, and emergencies:
  • JNTO safe travel information: https://www.japan.travel/en/japan-safe-travel-information/
  • Safety tips app/site for travelers: https://www.jnto.go.jp/safety-tips/eng/app.html
  • Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts, warnings, typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunami alerts: https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/
• Transportation:
  • Smart EX and railway-operator pages for Shinkansen reservations and rules.
  • JR East, JR Central, JR West, local railway, bus, ferry, and airport pages for operator-specific rules.
  • Google Maps, Apple Maps, NAVITIME, and station apps are routing aids; verify unusual routes, final trains, airport transfers, and limited-express reservations against operators.
• Food, places, and tourism:
  • JNTO Travel Japan destination, local-food, etiquette, and planning pages: https://www.japan.travel/en/
  • Official prefecture, city, venue, temple, shrine, museum, park, hotel, and restaurant pages for live hours, closures, prices, and reservation rules.
• Language:
  • NHK WORLD-JAPAN Easy Japanese: https://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/en/
  • Jisho/JMdict-based dictionaries for lookup; verify high-stakes phrases with a native speaker or official wording.
• Grimoire practice:
  • Put stable synthesis in chapters/.
  • Put durable captures or wrappers in sources/ before citing them as local evidence.
  • Keep live vendor facts as dated snapshots with a re-check note.

Gotchas

• Prefer current primary sources for rules, prices, schedules, visas, weather, reservations, and closures.
• External URLs in page bodies are discovery and verification aids. For durable provenance, file important sources under sources/ before making source-heavy claims canonical.

Related Docs

• overview
• planning assumptions