While Japan has extended its tight border restrictions until the end of February, the government has decided to shorten quarantine time for international arrivals. As reported by The Japan Times, Japan's quarantine period has effectively changed from 14 days to ten days as of Saturday January 15.
The new measure applies to Japanese nationals and foreign residents arriving from countries and regions where the highly contagious Omicron variant is dominant. Japan Times says that currently, this 'effectively includes all countries and territories around the world'. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan says it will list regions which are not covered by this new rule, however no list was available at the time of publication.
The change follows the government shortening the quarantine time for close contacts of Covid-19 cases to ten days from 14 days, as well as research suggesting that Omicron has a shorter incubation period compared to other Covid-19 variants.
The new ten-day quarantine period will include time at designated quarantine facilities as well as self-isolation at home or another accommodation. Travellers will still be required to comply with follow-up checks by the Heath Monitoring Center for Overseas Entrants as well as refrain from using public transportation.
Although quarantine restrictions have been relaxed, new entry into Japan by foreign nationals is still banned due to the current Covid-19 border restrictions. For further information on border control measures and countries affected, visit the MoFA website.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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