Japan Restricts Travel from 13 Additional Countries Including Mexico Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak

Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao, Bogotá, Colombia

Just as the Japanese government is seeking to ease domestic travel restrictions, it announced Tuesday it has expanded the list of countries that visitors to the Land of the Rising Sun cannot have set foot in within the two-week period prior to arriving in Japan.

The list adds 13 nations, including five South and Central American countries that include Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay.

The country first declared a nationwide state of emergency on April 16. It currently bans the entry of foreign travelers who have been to any of 87 countries and regions including China, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and most of Europe within the two-week period prior to their arrival there.

Tourism to Japan had already begun to plunge by February amidst the coronavirus outbreak, when it was down 58% compared to the same month in 2019.

“With the impact of the new coronavirus, demand for overseas travel in many markets including Japan has been curbed,” the Japan National Tourism Organization said earlier in the year.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)