Japan will start issuing vaccine passports by the end of July, the top government spokesperson said Thursday, as the accelerating pace of the inoculation rollout has many looking forward to the prospect of international travel.

Municipalities that are in charge of running a vaccination program domestically and keeping track of vaccination records will issue the personal passports in the form of paper documents, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said.

The certificates could help residents who have been inoculated in Japan travel abroad without being subjected to restrictions at border crossings. They will be available for non-Japanese citizens who are vaccinated, according to the Cabinet Secretariat, but it remains unclear which countries will choose to accept the documents.