Japan eases border controls amid criticism as exclusionist

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan will ease its tough COVID-19 border controls by increasing the number of people allowed to enter each day and reducing quarantine requirements following criticism that its current policy is unscientific and xenophobic. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says the daily entry cap will be raised to 5,000, including Japanese citizens, from the current 3,500 beginning March 1. The decision is good news for foreign scholars, exchange students and business travelers who have been unable to enter, but does not cover tourists. He says quarantines for entrants with a negative COVID-19 test and a booster shot will be shortened to three days from the current seven. Japan has banned nearly all non-resident foreign entrants since early in the pandemic.