Japan clampsisolationnormsfor Indian visitors, other nations amid Omicron scare

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

As the threat of Omicron variant of coronavirus looms large across the globe, Japan has decided to impose strict quarantine vigilance to people visiting the country from India and two other countries. The list also includes four states of the United States.

With emerging Omicron cases in the country and to curb further spread, Chief Cabinet Secretary HirokazuMatsuno on Friday announced the expansion of the list addressing a press conference. A government task force made the decision to control the increasing number of new variant cases in Japan.

Japanese nationals and foreign residents travelling to Japan from India, Greece, Romania and four US states will have to undergo stringent quarantine regulations Sunday onwards, in order to control the spread of the Omicron variant, as reported Kyodo news. Foreign residents, as well as Japanese nationals travelling from Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota and New York to Japan, will have to mandatorily spend three days of their two-week quarantine at government-designated facilities, reported Kyodo

The list for three-day mandatory quarantine at government-designated facilities already includes countries such as, Austria, Ecuador and France. Many are being subject to stringent quarantine measures like, staying in government-designated facilities for over 10 days, the Kyodo news report added.

Meanwhile, From December 2 to December 31, 2021, as emergency precautionary measure from a preventive perspective, cases for entry of foreign nationals with special exceptional circumstances are as follows:

Foreign nationals entering Japan with re-entry permit (including a special re-entry permit; the same applies hereinafter) who fall under any of the following:

• Foreign nationals with status of residence who have not stayed in Angola, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, or Lesotho within 14 days prior to the application for landing.
• Foreign nationals with the status of residence of “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of a Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of a Permanent Resident” or “Long Term Resident” (including spouse or child of Japanese/Permanent Resident who don’t hold the status of residence), who have stayed in Angola, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, or Lesotho within 14 days prior to the application for landing, but have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission by December 1, 2021.
• Foreign nationals who departed from Japan with a re-entry permit before August 31, 2020 and who were not permitted to re-enter Japan because the validity period of the re-entry permission expired after the country/region of stay was designated an area subject to denial of landing.(Excluding those who have stayed in Angola, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, or Lesotho within 14 days prior to the application for landing)
• Spouse or child of a Japanese national/permanent resident (holders of corresponding status of residence).
• Spouse or child of a foreign national where the foreign national has the status of residence of “Long-Term Resident”, whose family is staying in Japan and who has been separated from his/her family.

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