Covid-19: Japan reopens its borders after two years of closure
Passengers walk through the arrivals hall of Tokyo's Haneda International Airport on February 18, 2022. From March 1, foreigners can also travel to Japan;
AFP - PHILIP FONG
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
After keeping the borders tightly closed since the start of the pandemic, Tokyo is easing its immigration policy in dribs and drabs.
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With our correspondent in Tokyo
,
Bruno Duval
Tourists will
still not be welcome.
Priority is given to the 400,000 foreigners – businessmen, students or trainees – who had obtained a residence visa before the appearance of the virus but who, since then, have been waiting to be authorized to settle in the archipelago.
But for all that, they will not all be able to go to the country immediately.
Now only 5,000 foreigners a day, and not one more, are allowed to immigrate to Japan.
It's less than what the business community demanded, but it's already too much for these Tokyoites.
“
The sixth wave is taking its toll.
Only 20% of Japanese have received the third dose of vaccine.
And we can't get tested
because of the shortage of tests
.
Despite everything, we will welcome lots of strangers with open arms.
This will earn us a seventh wave this summer
, ”says a resident.
“
In times of major health crisis, it is not openness to the world that must take precedence but the precautionary principle
”, adds another.
A majority of respondents oppose the reopening of borders.
This is not the case for these two business leaders who work in the education and construction sectors.
“
Two years of isolation have bankrupted hundreds of Japanese language schools for immigrants.
This reopening of the borders is both too late and too partial
, ”said one.
“
Like most companies, we are understaffed because of the shortage of labor due to the declining birth rate.
Japan, whether it likes it or not, cannot do without immigrant workers
,” says the other.
But the government is walking on eggshells because the health situation remains precarious.
Public opinion severely judges the management of the epidemic, especially since delicate elections for the majority are planned for this summer.
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Japan
Coronavirus
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