TOKYO – Japan is expanding its entry ban to India and 10 other nations as part of efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday.
The move, which takes effect Wednesday and will remain in place “for the time being,” means foreign nationals who have been to these areas within the last 14 days will be turned away upon arrival.
The other countries are Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ghana, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, South Africa and Tajikistan.
The Foreign Ministry had raised its travel advisory for the 11 nations last week, urging against any trips to the areas.
With their addition, the number of countries and regions covered by Japan’s entry ban climbs to 111, including the United States, most of Asia including China and South Korea, and all of Europe.
The ban covers all foreign nationals who have stayed in any of the areas listed in the following table within 14 days prior to the application for landing.
Asia
Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam
Oceania
Australia, New Zealand
North America
Canada, United States
Latin America and the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Uruguay
Europe
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican
Middle East
Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
Africa
Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Morocco, Sao Tome and Principe
Speaking at a meeting of a government task force on the coronavirus response, Abe also said Japan will maintain other border control measures, including visa suspensions and a 14-day quarantine period for all arrivals including Japanese nationals, until the end of June.
The number of foreign travelers to Japan has plummeted since the measures were introduced, dealing a heavy blow to the world’s third-largest economy.
Inbound figures were down 99.9 percent in April from a year earlier to just 2,900, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
==Kyodo
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