Japan To Suspend New Overseas Entry Due To Omicron Variant

Japan will suspend new entries into the country by foreign nationals, citing the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the Nikkei reported.

The government had lifted an entry ban earlier this month for foreign business travelers and students, but has reversed course in hopes of preventing another wave of infections. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Monday that the government is dealing with the threat of the Omicron variant "with a strong sense of crisis."

The government will likely lower the number of new entries per day to 3,500 on Dec. 1 from 5,000 after the it raised the number on Nov. 26. Japan lifted a pandemic state of emergency for most restrictions at the start of October.