The Asahi newspaper reports that the government plans to lift the entry ban for foreigners newly entering Japan from all countries starting as early as the first part of October, except for tourists. The easing of restrictions will not only apply to business people, but also to those with newly issued mid- to longer-term residency visas (of longer than three months). Restrictions on the entry of foreign students will be completed lifted.
The Asashi reports that this information is based on interviews with several government officials.
In order to prevent the spread of the virus, the government plans to continue to require entrants to the country to self-isolate for two weeks. Also, there will be a cap of 1,000 people per day allowed into Japan.
The planned partial lift of the entry plan is based on the results observed from the lifting of the entry ban for people coming from Thailand, Viet Nam, and five other countries in July. Apparently, there was no measurable correlation between allowing entrants from these countries and an increase in the spread of infections.
Currently, Japan bans entry of people from some 159 countries and regions around the world. In principle, foreigners are not allowed to enter the country, with certain exceptions (including, for example, people with residency visas, including permanent residents). Sixteen countries and regions, primarily in Asia, where the infection situation has been deemed to have stabilized, have been selected to resume travel and negotiations have started to allow business people from these countries to enter the country.
Source: Asahi newspaper via Yahoo News Japan, September 23, 2020
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