China is set to recommence issuing Visas for Travelers of Japanese Origin
It is on record that the Chinese authorities have recommenced issuing visas to tourists from Japan. This was after the three-week suspension after the complaint about Tokyo’s stringent COVID-19 requisites for Chinese tourists. This resolution was aired through a report obtained on the Chinese website and published by our team.
The Chinese authorities cut short the visa issuance process in Japan on January 10 after Japan imposed further COVID-19 tests for the Chinese in December. Recently, the Chinese witnessed an upsurge in the number of COVID-19 infections, which forced the government of other countries to impose more stringent measures for those traveling from China. The aim was to curb the possibility of another surge in the number of the virus.
Since the beginning of the virus, the Japanese authorities have recorded 310,939 COVID-19 cases since the breakout of the infection. This is according to the figures provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). In the same vein, 66,707 lives were lost to the pandemic. The statistics also showed that as of January 23, 271,971,415 vaccine doses had been administered in Japan following the virus outbreak.
In October 2023, the Japanese authorities opened their border for tourists to enter the country as long as they have valid proof of complete vaccination. It also made it easier at the airport not to test any individual with the proof, except if they show signs of COVID-19 virus.
However, China was not included in this policy because of the number of COVID-19 infection cases it was still battling. Thus, Japan imposed additional measures to curb the influx of many Chinese citizens, which could also lead to the reintroduction of the virus in the country. To make it work, the Japanese leaders ensured that anyone arriving from China must show a pre-departure negative test result and that they may take an additional test.
As a reprisal, the Chinese leaders stopped issuing visas to the citizens of South Korea because they later imposed the same Japanese COVID-19 ban on Chinese citizens entering South Korea. This may sound funny, but it is all in a bid to put an end to the disease disrupting the world.
Earlier, the European Union Member States agreed that all member countries must introduce pre-departure testing for Chinese citizens and random testing on arrival to stop the number of infections from China.
“The Member States are strongly encouraged to introduce, for all passengers departing from China to the Member States, the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test taken not more than 48 hours before departure from China,” the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union explained.
Furthermore, EU Member States also imposed the use of facemasks on all passengers on flights to and from China. The goal is to completely eradicate COVID-19 virus from the world so everyone can move around freely as we used to before the outbreak.
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