Japan’s government will halt entry by business travellers from 11 countries and regions including China and South Korea that are currently still permitted to enter the country, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday, in an aim to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Japan last month banned entry of non-resident foreign nationals following the detection of a highly contagious new variant of the virus in Britain and South Africa, but continued to allow entry by some travellers under its “business track.”
The latest move comes as Japan experiences a surge of new infections with the government preparing to expand a state of emergency that it declared for the Tokyo area last week to seven more prefectures.
The measure will take effect Thursday through Feb. 7 when the state of emergency is planned to be lifted, the Nikkei said.
