TOKYO – Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday (Feb 17) said to ease border controls imposed to counter the pandemic.
From March, authorities will raise the number of people allowed to enter to 5,000 a day, from 3,500 now, Kishida told a news conference.
“We will permit the entrance of foreigners except for tourists,” he said. Measures would be eased gradually and depend on a number of conditions, including the infection rates in other nations, Kishida said.
The period of mandatory quarantine will be reduced to three days in some conditions, from seven days now, he said, adding that in some cases there would be no requirement to quarantine.
The change comes, Kishida said, as the number of coronavirus infections has shown signs of declining, meaning Japan needed to start preparing for a new phase.
Still, semi-emergency measures in place for some 17 regions will remain until March 6, he said.
Japan currently designates 82 nations as “high risk” and requires a week of quarantine, including three or six days at a hotel, for many. Two weeks of quarantine were required until mid-January.
