Japan has once again tightened its entry rules by banning all travellers until February 7, but Japanese citizens and foreign residents are still allowed into the country. However, according to Kyodo News, anyone entering Japan now has to sign a special pledge saying that they’ll stay in quarantine for the required 14 days.
Those who violate the rules by going out during the quarantine period will be penalised, including the public disclosure of their full name. Foreign residents have to be especially careful not to break quarantine, as their resident status will be revoked, severely limiting their ability to live and work in Japan and possibly resulting in deportation. These new rules will take effect from January 14, with no end date given yet.
According to the minister in charge of Japan’s coronavirus response Yasutoshi Nishimura, stricter measures had to be implemented after a person who returned from the UK enjoyed a meal with a number of people during his two-week quarantine, leading to a local spread of the mutated UK strain of Covid-19.
Keep up with the latest on Covid-19 in Tokyo and Japan here.
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