COVID-19: Japan eases virus border rules for workers and students but tourists will still be barred
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Japan will ease its strict virus border rules to allow students and business people into the country from March, but tourists will still be barred, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.The move comes with growing pressure on Japan from the business community and academics to loosen the border restrictions, which are the toughest in the G7 but have broad support from Japanese voters.Japan has barred tourists since the early days of the pandemic, and has in some cases prevented even existing foreign residents from entering the country. Last November, the government slightly loosened the rules to allow some students and businesspeople to enter, but then quickly reversed the plan weeks later as the Omicron strain emerged.After an Omicron-driven spike in infections, cases in Japan now appear to have peaked, experts say.While Japan has not pursued a zero-Covid policy and has avoided strict lockdowns, it has made tough border measures a centrepiece of its pandemic response. Japan has recorded more than 20,950 deaths in the pandemic and polls show Japanese broadly favour the tough restrictions, with nearly 60 percent of respondents in a recent survey by public broadcaster NHK backing a continued ban on entry.Davide Rossi, an Italian entrepreneur living in Japan who campaigns for students stuck outside the country, said the news was a light at the end of the tunnel, and many now hope they can enter Japan before the new semester in April. "There is a very high sense of urgency. People are really on the verge of quitting, but now, with this announcement, they have some hope," he told AFP.But he recalled the way the border restrictions were tightened in November, just weeks after being eased."Hopefully this is a lesson, too, and the borders won't close again like they did in November, because that really hurt a lot of people so much. I hope things will get better from today."