The ban took effect on December 28, late January 2021. Japanese citizens and foreigners living in Japan will be allowed to return to their home countries due to concerns about a variant of the new COVID-19. Forced isolation applies to all and no exceptions.
Japan currently prohibits entry for citizens from 152 countries. But since October, the country has allowed international students or economic professionals to enter if they plan to stay long term.
Visa issuance will also be temporarily interrupted due to the new regulations. However, pre-visa holders will still enter the country even after the ban is in place.
To avoid disruption of economic activity, bilateral business travel agreements with 11 countries including China and South Korea will be maintained. Since many foreigners are entering Japan through the deal, the latest travel ban may not have much effect on curbing foreign arrivals.
People from countries where new variants are found will be required to present negative results taken within 72 hours of departure and must be tested immediately upon arrival.
As of Friday, Japan had recorded five cases involving COVID-19 strain in the UK.
Before taking a decision to ban entry from countries, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga discussed how to respond to the new COVID-19 strain with Ministry of Health officials for about 20 minutes. Suga also announced on December 25 that he would enact new measures to prevent the COVID-19 strain from spreading.
Besides the UK, a new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected in Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and Germany. The variant is thought to be 70% more contagious than the original strain, but is unlikely to make the cases worse.