Japan’s Border Controls Tightened Further for Visitors from China

Jiji Press

12:19 JST, January 8, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press)—Japan on Sunday tightened further its COVID-19 border controls for visitors from mainland China, ahead of Chinese New Year holidays in late January during which travel demand is expected to surge.

On Dec. 30 last year, Japan started requiring all arrivals from mainland China, where novel coronavirus infections are spreading, to undergo simplified COVID-19 tests and quarantine themselves at designated facilities if they get positive results in the testing.

Under the tighter border controls, the simplified tests are replaced by more precise quantitative antigen and polymerase chain reaction tests. Also, travelers flying directly from mainland China need to provide a negative result from a COVID-19 test conducted within 72 hours of departure.

To ensure smooth quarantine proceedings, Japan will continue to ask airlines to limit flight increases.