Japan will close its borders to practically all foreign visitors on November 30 due to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Monday, just a few weeks after the country had just begun a cautious easing of its strict travel restrictions.
Foreign business travellers and students will also be banned from Tuesday. However, they were recently allowed to re-enter Japan. Tourists were not welcome for a long time. According to the Japanese channel NTV, only people who come to Japan for humanitarian or other very specific reasons are allowed to enter the country.
The new rules will remain in effect until more is known about the new Omicron variant.
Few corona cases are currently being reported in Japan. This is because nearly 80 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and people wear face masks almost everywhere. On Sunday, the country had only 61 new corona infections. However, in mid-August, there were still more than 25,000 a day.