Japan to allow travelers from mainland China to enter country by proof of vaccine

TOKYO Kyodo will allow travelers from mainland China to enter the country by presenting proof of three doses of a COVID 19 vaccine, a top government spokesman said on Monday.

Visitors from mainland China are required to present proof of a negative coronavirus test taken 72 hours or less before departure.

In a news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that the government will continue its sample testing for arrivals from mainland China at airports because of the tentative measures currently in place in light of the infection status at home and abroad, as well as border control measures taken by other Group of Seven nations.

On May 8, the government will start a new genome surveillance program to detect new infectious diseases, as the legal status of COVID 19 is set to be downgraded to the same category as common infectious diseases, such as seasonal influenza.

In late December, Japan introduced blanket COVID 19 testing for all arrivals from mainland China amid an explosion of infections in the country after Beijing relaxed its zero-COVID policy that had involved lockdowns and quarantines.

In early January, it tightened border controls for visitors from the region by requiring proof of a negative test.

In March, the Japanese government stopped the blanket testing for such visitors but started random testing at airports after finding that the number of those testing positive for COVID-19 had dropped.