Japan to lift virus ban on re-entry of foreign residents

Japan will from next week lift a prohibition on the re-entry of some foreign inhabitants, required to limit the spread of coronavirus, the foreign ministry has announced.

Around 90,000 foreign citizens with residence permits, including students, business people, and trainees, are currently stuck outside Japan after officials banned re-entry from over 100 countries in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

   

From August 5, those who left Japan before their destination nations were added to the ban list will be capable to apply to return, the foreign ministry announced in a statement late Wednesday.

Those eligible will have to get a “re-entry confirmation letter” from the most proximal Japanese diplomatic mission and submit proof of a COVIS negative test conducted within 72 hours of their flight.

From September 1, those requirements will also apply to foreign nationals in other categories, including permanent or long-term residents and spouses and children of Japanese nationals or permanent residents.

Japan has inflicted an entry ban on visitors from more than 140 countries and regions, but the government has said it will release them gradually.

Japanese citizens are apt to re-enter the country from places on the ban list, and foreign residents in Japan can apply for humanitarian exemptions to visit countries on the list and be allowed to return.