Japan bans foreign visitors due to Omicron threat

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during his press conference, after Parliament re-elected him as prime minister after winning elections last month by his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in Kanti, Japan, on November 10, 2021. Stanislav Kojiko/Paul via Reuters

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Restrictions come into effect at midnight, a move that reflects the easing of travel restrictions, cases of COVID-19 in Japan remain low

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan said on Monday it would close its borders to foreigners to prevent the spread of the Omicron type of coronavirus, joining Israel in imposing some of the strictest border controls since the alternative was discovered in South Africa.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that Japan will ban entry to foreigners from midnight Monday, and Japanese returnees from a number of designated countries will have to quarantine in designated facilities.

“These are temporary and exceptional measures that we are taking in the interest of safety until there is clearer information on the Omicron alternative,” Kishida told reporters.

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I am willing to take all the criticism from those who say that the Kishida administration is too cautious.

The move marks a rapid escalation of restrictions since Friday when Japan said it would tighten border controls on people arriving from six African countries, although no cases of Omicron have been detected in the country and much about the new alternative remains unknown.

It comes a few weeks after the Kishida administration eased quarantine measures on foreign business travelers to help boost the economy. Read more

Countries around the world have enacted border restrictions since the World Health Organization described Omicron as a “different kind of concern”. Japan is among the most powerful countries, after Israel in banning entry to foreigners, and Morocco, which suspended all incoming flights for two weeks. Read more

A traveler from Namibia has been found positive for the new coronavirus, Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto said, but more tests are needed to see if it is a new alternative.

After a slow start, Japan’s vaccination rate is now the highest among the G7 economies, and COVID-19 infections have fallen dramatically since the deadly fifth wave that peaked in August.

However, health experts are concerned about a potential rebound this winter, and a round of booster shots is set to begin next month.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it can take “days to several weeks” to determine the severity of a new variant in the absence of information that its symptoms differ from those of other variants. Read more

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(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Rocky Swift) Editing by Tom Hogg and Stephen Coates

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