It had recently reopened to workers and students
(ANSA) – TOKYO, NOV 29 – Japan will close its borders to all foreign visitors, against the risk of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The Japanese government announced this today, just three weeks after loosening some restrictions to allow foreign business travelers, students and interns to enter the country.
“We have banned all (new) entries of foreign nationals from all over the world since November 30,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. Japanese returning from nine southern African states and countries where infections with the new variant have been identified will have to undergo “rigorous risk-based isolation measures,” Kishida added. Japan, which has implemented border restrictions since the start of the pandemic, eased measures in early November but remained closed to tourists. The Japanese government announced on Friday the extension of the hotel quarantine to ten days for visitors from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Tokyo extended this measure this weekend for visitors arriving from Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. (HANDLE).