TOKYO, Feb 18 (NNN-NHK) – Japan will ease COVID-19 border controls starting from Mar, by raising the daily entry cap and reducing the quarantine period from seven days to three, for both Japanese and foreign nationals, Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida said, yesterday.
Japan will adjust its ban on new entrants from the current 3,500 to 5,000 per day starting next month. Foreign nationals will also be allowed to enter the country for purposes other than tourism.
The decision came, as the country’s entry ban on nonresident foreigners, imposed from late Nov to the end of Feb, sparked strong criticism for being too strict and not based on science.
Upon arrival in Japan, travellers will be asked to quarantine for three days and the period will end after they test negative for COVID-19.
The easing of the entry curbs was approved, after head of an expert panel of the health ministry said that, the recent surge in COVID-19 cases has likely “peaked” in early Feb.
The country decided to impose border controls at the end of Nov, in an effort to curb the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Only a fraction of nonresident foreigners, wishing to enter Japan, have received visas, as exceptions. Students, businesspeople, academics and even lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have been strongly urging the Japanese government to ease the restrictions.– NNN-NHK
