Japan Moves Quickly To Face Omicron Variant, Closes All Entrances For 1 Month

Illustration: Tokyo International Airport (Photo by Diego Fernandez on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida made an important decision to face the Omicron variant. He ordered Japan to close its borders to all foreigners.

Whereas three weeks ago, this country had just reopened its borders to a number of foreigners who had just arrived in the country. And now they have closed themselves again amid increasing fears of a new variant of the coronavirus.

Quoted from The Washington Post, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that this emergency measure would last for at least one month. At the same time, he has asked researchers to study the Omicron variant and assess the risk.

Starting Tuesday, November 30, Japan will ban non-resident foreigners, including business travelers, international students, and foreign workers, from entering the country. The ban applies to all countries, not just countries with confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.

The decision makes Japan one of the first, and by far the largest, countries to impose a broad border closure in response to the latest variant, alongside Israel and Morocco.

"This is a precautionary, emergency measure to avoid the worst-case scenario," Kishida said.

"This is a great measure for a while just until we know more about the omicron variant."

As previously reported, this variant was first reported to WHO on November 24 from South Africa, where infections have sharply increased.

It has since spread around the world, with new cases found in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Australia even as more countries impose travel restrictions to try to shut down.

Japan said on Monday it would close its borders to foreigners, joining Israel in taking the toughest measures.

The WHO in its latest guidance reiterates that countries should use a "risk-based approach to adjust international travel measures in a timely manner". Further advice is forthcoming, says WHO.