Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that, in response to an increase in Covid-19 infections among Chinese travelers, Japan would intensify its Covid-19 border control procedures on Sunday.
As per Businessline, in order to board direct flights from China, passengers would need to have negative coronavirus tests, Kishida announced on Wednesday, escalating steps implemented on December 30.
He stated during a nationally broadcast New Year’s press conference that Japan will continue to request airlines ban further flights from China.
“Necessary restrictions are still in place as we take every precaution to prevent illnesses,” Kishida said. The decision was based on the findings of recent Covid-19 tests on Chinese travelers and similar actions taken by other nations, he said.
On Tuesday, 53 of 56 overseas passengers who tested positive for Covid upon arrival at Japanese airports were Chinese, according to a tally by the Japanese health ministry. Compared to Monday, when all 25 visitors with positive test results were Chinese, this is a decrease.
The majority of European Union nations support pre-departure testing for Chinese travelers, the European Commission announced on Tuesday. Beijing has deemed these restrictions, likewise imposed by South Korea and the United States, to be “discriminatory.”
Separately, Japan’s foreign ministry announced that direct flights from Hong Kong and Macau would be permitted to arrive at airports other than Narita and Haneda near Tokyo, Kansai near Osaka, and Chubu near Nagoya, relaxing last week’s restrictions.
The ministry stated that airlines must continue to restrict extra flights from Hong Kong and the gambling capital of Macau even when the list of destination airports expands on Sunday.
