Only a few weeks in office, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants to avoid the mistakes of his predecessor.

The government in Tokyo reacted to the news of the new omicron variant of the virus from South Africa faster and more aggressively than ever before during the corona pandemic.

Immediately there were stricter quarantine rules for travelers from South Africa and neighboring African countries.

As early as Monday, the government closed the borders for all foreigners who want to enter Japan for the first time.

For the time being, this applies until the end of the year.

Only Israel and Morocco are similarly aggressive against the Omikron variant.

Patrick Welter

Correspondent for business and politics in Japan, based in Tokyo.

  • Follow I follow

Japan is falling back into the pattern of almost completely closed borders for foreigners, which it has followed almost consistently during the pandemic since spring 2020.

For athletes, officials and reporters during the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer, there were exceptional rules under strict movement control.

Only three weeks ago, the country had re-allowed temporary entry for foreign business travelers, students and interns, subject to conditions.

That’s over now.

The country only allows 3,500 people a day to enter the country, currently only Japanese and foreigners who already live in the country.

14 days of isolation in the quarantine hotel or at home are generally mandatory.

There are very few visa exceptions only for diplomats or for humanitarian reasons.

The goal: to ensure success

Koichi Nakano, a political scientist from Sophia University, speaks of a mixture of general caution and dormant xenophobia. "In Japan there is a general assumption that risks and dangers come from outside," says Nakano. "In a populist reflex, the ruling Liberal Democrats and the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democrats, are now rushing to restrict the entry of foreigners again." the West had been modernized. It is the fear of the black ships that the United States used to force the opening of Japan.

Evidence of a defensive attitude towards foreigners can be seen in the fact that the Omikron cascade of increasing entry barriers immediately stopped when it hit the Japanese. The Ministry of Transport had ordered the airlines not to sell any more airline tickets for trips to Japan until the turn of the year. Japanese people living abroad who wanted to travel to their relatives for the New Year and had not yet booked a ticket would have been blocked from entering the country. When this became known, criticism arose and Kishida immediately gave in. According to the Ministry of Transport, the withdrawal of the sales ban also applies to foreigners living in the country. As things stand, you can travel home and return for the Christmas vacation. However, all foreigners remain locked out,who want to travel to Japan for the first time.

Kishida justifies the renewed border closure with the fact that he wants to face unknown risks with the greatest caution.

So far, two cases of infection with the Omikron variant have been discovered in Japan among travelers from Namibia and Peru.

The government wants to secure the successes achieved in the fight against the corona virus.

An upper house election is due next year.

A new, severe corona wave would worsen election prospects.

Last summer, around the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan experienced the heaviest virus wave to date with the Delta variant. It overwhelmed the medical system.

That and the lack of precaution cost the then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga the office.

Highest vaccination rate in the G-7 countries

After that, however, the number of new infections fell drastically, most recently to an average of 110 per day. The seven-day incidence, which reached the Japanese record high of almost 130 new infections per 100,000 Japanese at the end of August, has been less than two for weeks.

Despite the lifting of moderate restrictions on public life, the infections are not on the rise. This is helped by the fact that Japan, with more than 77 percent of the population, has the highest vaccination rate among the large, rich industrialized countries (G 7), even if Japan started vaccinating late, as did epidemic expert Kenji Shibuya, who used to do World Health Organization (WHO) advised, says. Adolescents and young adults who spread the virus most often still have many antibodies. Shibuya also suspects undiscovered asymptomatic cases and says that the next wave of infections will come in winter. The country began booster vaccinations on Wednesday, initially for medical staff.

Whether and to what extent the entry restrictions for foreigners are effective against the pandemic is controversial.

The World Health Organization argues against blanket travel restrictions.

An entry ban for foreigners is epidemiologically difficult to understand, said Michael Ryan, head of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, this week.

"Does the virus read the passport?

Does the virus know the nationality or does it know where you live? ”Asked Ryan.

The entry blockade can only buy time, but it cannot prevent the introduction of the virus, says doctor Shibuya.

"It would be more rational if Japan demanded strict vaccination regulations and negative PCR tests for entry." So far, Japan has only tested during entry with antigen tests, which are not as precise.