Japan intends to tighten rules for entry from all countries

The Japanese government plans to tighten entry rules for visitors from foreign countries to prevent the spread of new strains of the coronavirus, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Norihisa Tamura said during a discussion on NHK.

“We now have stricter access rules for several countries where new COVID-19 strains have been detected. We are currently considering extending this to all countries,” he noted.

In addition to pre-flight and coronavirus tests at the airport, there are rules for a compulsory stay in a specialized quarantine facility for three days after entering the country.

Those who come to the country will have another virus test after these procedures and will be able to return home if the result is negative. However, they will remain in quarantine for another two weeks. The requirements currently apply to people from 17 countries. These are Hungary, Germany, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, and others, including the United Kingdom.

According to Tamura, Japan thus wants to increase the effectiveness of the detection of new versions.