TOKYO, Mar 30 (NNN-NHK) – Japan will step up its efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, by banning the entry of foreign citizens travelling from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe.
Non-Japanese citizens, who have been in any of these areas in the past two weeks, will be barred, the paper said. Tokyo may also ban travel to and from some countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, it said, citing unidentified government sources.
At present, Japan only bans entry of citizens from some parts of South Korea, China, as well as, numerous European nations, with a request for a two-week self-quarantine for those entering from the United States, China and South Korea.
While Japanese nationals would not be affected, the travel ban would come, as a surge in the number of infections in Japan stokes fears that Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, may shift from considering to declaring a national state of emergency – a step that could pave the way for a lock-down of its capital, Tokyo.
“We’re in a critical stage” on state of emergency deliberations, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told a news conference on Monday.
Any lock-down in Japan would look different to mandatory measures imposed in some parts of Europe and the United States: By law, local authorities are only permitted to issue requests for people to stay home that are not legally binding.
“I think the possibility of a lock-down of the Tokyo metropolitan is rising,” said Hideo Kumano, chief economist, at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
“It would be like stopping blood flowing through Japan’s economy,” he said, estimating a lock-down of Tokyo for a month could shrink Japan’s economy by about 5.1 trillion yen ($47 billion) – nearly 1%.
