JAPAN TIMES



 

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara suggested Sunday that the government will raise the daily number of people allowed to enter the country from the current level of about 3,500 to around 5,000, easing its border controls against the coronavirus.

“It’s quite possible to raise (the daily limit) to 5,000,” Kihara said on a television program.

But he took a cautious attitude about easing the entry restrictions further. “We need to discuss whether we can do without (quarantine) checks” to allow more people to enter Japan, he said.

Kihara also said the government will conduct a scientific review on the effects of its coronavirus infection prevention efforts, including pre-emergency measures, by involving experts on economics and statistics.

It aims to draw up a draft plan on anti-infection measures as early as June.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed Japan’s intention to consider relaxing its border controls in response to requests that business people and students should be allowed to enter the country.

Japan currently bans in principle new entries by nonresident foreign nationals in an effort to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus.

“We will take into account accumulated scientific knowledge on the omicron variant, changes in infection conditions inside and outside Japan, and other countries’ border control measures,” Kishida told reporters after an inspection visit to Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Saturday.

He did not clearly state when the border control could be eased, with the current measures scheduled to end on Feb. 28.

Kishida’s remarks follow criticism of the entry ban from many academic and business leaders. The measure has prevented international students from entering Japan, prompting some to consider alternatives such as South Korea.

The business community, which is facing a chronic labor shortage, has asked for the ban to be lifted.

The entry ban has been in place since Nov. 30, with Japan confirming its first case of the omicron variant later that day.

The government said last month it plans to allow some government-sponsored foreign students who have less than a year left until they graduate or finish their studies to enter.

On a possible declaration of a COVID-19 state of emergency for Osaka Prefecture, Kihara sounded cautious about doing so, although Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura plans to decide as early as Monday whether to ask the central government for such a declaration.

“There are still many things that should be done, including securing hospital beds and taking steps to prevent infection clusters among elderly people. Discussions need to be made, including on such issues,” Kihara said.