Tokyo: Japan has lodged a protest after China suspended visas to Japanese citizens in connection with Tokyo’s requirement for Chinese travelers to submit negative PCR tests, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.
“For the purpose of COVID-19 countermeasures, without stopping flow of the people as much as possible, we are taking border measures, whereas China, other than the COVID-19 measures, unilaterally suspended issuance of visas. It is highly regrettable. Through diplomatic channels we have made a protest and we asked them to retract the measures,” Matsuno said during a press conference.
On January 10, China stopped issuing ordinary visas to Japanese citizens traveling to the country. The decision came after Japan announced stricter entry requirements for those arriving from China due to a surge in COVID-19 cases there. These include mandatory COVID-19 testing and limiting to four the number of Japanese airports accepting flights from China. Beijing considered such requirements discriminatory.
In December 2022, China’s government started to gradually ease its “zero tolerance” policy toward COVID-19 cases, which had been the strictest in the world for almost three years. On January 8, obligatory PCR testing and centralized isolation for people arriving in China were canceled.
At the same time, the country has faced an increase in COVID-19 infections, forcing a number of countries, including the United States, Italy, Japan, and South Korea to impose entry requirements on passengers arriving from China.
