Japan's entry personnel population continues to increase

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan

                  / KUCINTA SETIA

Image : Narita Airport in 2017.

Affected by the covid pandemic, Japan currently imposes entry restrictions on people from 111 countries and regions, all entry personnel need to undergo the SARS-CoV-2 test. As the number of people entering Japan increases, the inspection capabilities of the country’s airports have begun to face pressure.

According to reports, the main people currently entering Japan are Japanese and their spouses, as well as permanent visa holders who have previously gone through re-entry procedures. After these people were tested at the airport, they were escorted into the vehicle to be greeted by a special person. The test result usually comes out after half a day, even if it is negative, it needs to be isolated at home or hotel for two weeks.

According to reports, Japanese airports conducted an average of 570 inspections per day in May, but in June it increased to an average of 950 inspections per day. Staff from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that the increase in the number of entry may be due to foreigners who left Japan after the Japanese epidemic continued to expand. Now that the Japanese epidemic has eased, they have gradually returned to Japan.

Currently, the Japanese government is planning to relax the entry restrictions for people from Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand, allowing up to 250 people to enter each day. These people need to be tested before leaving the country, and also when they enter Japan.

The maximum daily inspection volume of 13 quarantine offices in Japan is 2,300, which is quite urgent. Staff of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that the airport has no place and no manpower to conduct more tests.

Tokyo Medical University's Tokuo Hamada said that with the continuous relaxation of entry restrictions, it is not realistic to carry out inspections on all entry visitors in the future. More efficient and accurate inspection methods must be adopted, and two weeks of isolated observations should be implemented on immigrants.