Japan on May 8 downgraded the severity category of COVID-19 to the same level as seasonal influenza, meaning that individuals and businesses can decide on their own whether to take anti-infection measures.
Japan will downgrade the legal classification of COVID-19 this spring — bringing an end to quarantine guidelines for COVID-19 patients — and review border controls and mask recommendations, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Friday, marking a major policy change nearly three years since the start of the pandemic.
Japan will tighten its border controls for travelers from China on Friday, as the latter nation is seeing a surge in COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday. The announcement, which marks the first time Japan has tightened its borders since foreign tourists were allowed to enter without restrictions in October, pours cold water on expectations of an influx of Chinese tourists over the Chinese New Year period, which begins Jan. 22.
With coronavirus infections rising again nationwide, a panel of experts advising the health ministry has warned that the peak of what has the makings of Japan’s eighth wave is likely to match or exceed that of the record-setting seventh.
Japan’s health minister said the government is taking every precaution to contain a possible eighth wave in the COVID-19 pandemic this winter following a spike in cases nationwide.
Individual foreign tourists could finally enter Japan with few restrictions on Oct. 11, when the government lifted most of its remaining COVID-19 border controls. Gone is the unpopular requirement that tourists must travel on package tours to be allowed into Japan. The government also removed its cap on daily arrivals and resumed visa-free entry for short-term travelers from visa-exempt countries or regions.
Fermé aux voyageurs d’agrément depuis deux ans et demi, le pays va de nouveau accepter les touristes individuels étrangers à compter du 11 octobre. Il va supprimer les quotas, qui limitaient les arrivées, et rétablir les exemptions de visa qu’il offrait avant la pandémie aux ressortissants de dizaines de nations, dont la France.
In mid-August, a cold storage facility in a mortuary at a funeral home in Tokyo area was filled with nine bodies, the maximum capacity. All the boards with the names of the deceased had the word “COVID,” as they were confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus.
Once again, COVID-19 cases are surging across Japan, fueled in part by the newer, immunity-escaping omicron subvariant BA.5, raising concerns that the nation’s seventh wave has begun.
Après deux ans et demi de fermeture aux touristes, Tokyo autorise, à partir de ce vendredi, le retour de visiteurs dans des groupes pris en charge en permanence par des guides locaux. Il orchestre une reprise très progressive pour ne pas braquer une population toujours inquiète.
Guides must accompany visitors ‘from entry to departure’
TOKYO — Japan is opening up to overseas tour groups from Friday, but under strict conditions: visitors must wear masks, buy insurance and be accompanied by a tour guide “from entry to departure.”
Japan further eased its border restrictions on Wednesday, allowing people arriving from 98 countries where coronavirus cases are low to be exempt from testing at airports and quarantine.
Après avoir ordonné un confinement total, le régime de Kim Jong-un tente d’endiguer une vague de cas qui a déjà fait officiellement au moins 56 morts et accepte de l’aide internationale sans le reconnaître.
– North Korean leader hosts another emergency meeting Sunday
– Death toll rises to 50 in country that has refused vaccines
Le premier Ministre avait évoqué une réouverture «similaire aux autres pays du G7». Son gouvernement prévoit en réalité de maintenir fermées ses frontières au plus grand nombre, au moins jusqu’en septembre.
