Japan banned most international arrivals to the country in March last year and only late 2020 allowed foreign residents to return that happened to be outside of the country when travel restrictions were put in place.
The country has made reciprocal agreements with eleven Asian countries for reciprocal access for business travelers to enter, which has been halted through Feb 7, 2021.
Here’s an excerpt from the Japan Times:
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday night the government will temporarily suspend an arrangement allowing business travelers from 11 Asian countries and regions to enter Japan, effectively banning the entry of nonresident foreign travelers.
The entry restrictions will take effect from Thursday through Feb. 7, when the state of emergency declared for 11 prefectures is set to expire.
The countries and regions affected are: Vietnam, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Conclusion
Japanese companies do a lot of manufacturing around Asia. That was one of the reasons to have these reciprocal entry agreements in place for business travelers that have now been all canned until early February,
The country has so far managed the coronavirus pandemic well and is going through a third wave of infections at the moment. The numbers are still very reasonable, taking into account the population size.
Japan really needs to start vaccinations unless they decided to can the 2020 Olympics altogether that were moved to 2021.
