TOKYO Kyodo travelers from nearly all parts of the United States will now have to spend three days of their two-week quarantine periods in government-designated facilities as part of stricter quarantine requirements, the Japanese government said Wednesday.
The measure will be effective Saturday, as part of strict border controls to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the novel coronaviruses.
The three-day requirement was only applied to travelers from certain U.S. states. The government said that travelers from New York and Hawaii will still have to spend six days of their quarantine periods in the facilities.
Travelers from Ecuador, Lithuania, Russia and Slovakia will have to spend three days of their quarantine periods in government-designated facilities.
Japan currently bans foreign arrivals and requires returning Japanese nationals and foreign residents to be quarantined in such facilities. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the tighter rule would remain in force until early January.
Japan reported its first Omicron infection last month and the number of cases continues to increase.