Japan Bars Entry of Travellers from 111 countries

Countries across the globe are gradually but carefully opening their borders to travellers. While some may be permitting only domestic travellers, others are allowing international travellers with checks in place. 

Battling the COVID-19 lockdown, Japan has lifted the nationwide ‘state of emergency’. However, Japan has strict restrictions in place for travellers from countries severely affected by coronavirus. Japan recently added ten more countries to its list of banned countries, including India. 

The list of new countries includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, El Salvador, Ghana, Guinea, and Argentina.

The country has also banned entry of travellers with a history of travel to these countries in the past 14 days. The ban is immediate effectively and will remain in place “for the time being” according to media reports. 

Japan earlier also released a list of countries covered by the entry ban. The recent additions to the list take the number to 111 countries including China, South Korea, United States and Europe. Any visitors from these 111 countries will be turned away at the border. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe said Japan will also maintain other border control measures until the end of next month including visa suspensions and a two-week mandatory quarantine period for all arrivals. 

As for the citizens, they can re-enter the country by undergoing a test for COVID-19 and self-quarantining for 2 weeks to monitor any development of symptoms.