Japan refuses entry of 8 foreigners over coronavirus

February 3, 2020

Tokyo--Japan had refused the entry of eight foreign nationals by Sunday, in line with a new measure to strengthen immigration controls amid the spread of a new coronavirus, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday.

Under the measure introduced Saturday, the Japanese government in principle refuses entry by foreign nationals with records of being in China's Hubei Province within 14 days of their applications to enter Japan and holders of Chinese passports issued by the province, regardless of whether or not they are infected with the virus, originating in Wuhan, the capital of the province.

A senior government official said that Japan is considering expanding the scope of foreign nationals subject to refusal of entry.

The government is slated to make a decision on the matter after carefully examining possible effects on the Japanese economy, including the impact on of the tourism industry, sources familiar with the situation said.

At the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, health minister Katsunobu Kato said that his ministry will analyze trends in the number of patients in each Chinese province.

If signs of a further increase emerge in any provinces, Japan will need to consider including them into the entry refusal list, he said.

The United States and Singapore refuse entry of all foreign nationals who have traveled in China in the past 14 days.

At the Budget Committee, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government "has already started to develop a simple test kit" to detect the virus, with cooperation from the private sector in sight.

"The Cabinet Secretariat is leading the implementation of countermeasures beyond ministry and agency boundaries," Abe said. "We want to enhance our crisis management capabilities further by conducting constant reviews (of our systems)."

At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the health and industry ministries have asked industry groups to increase production of face masks amid concerns over mask shortages caused by the coronavirus crisis.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told the Budget Committee that seven Japanese nationals are staying in Hubei Province despite their wish to return to Japan, because they cannot obtain approval from Chinese authorities.

The seven showed symptoms when they were about to board chartered flights sent by the Japanese government to Wuhan last week, and their health is being monitored there, Motegi said. Jiji Press