Japan to scrap virus tests on arrival from China
by AFP Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) April 3, 2023

Japan will stop testing travellers arriving from mainland China for the coronavirus, the government said Monday, ending a Covid policy previously slammed as "discriminatory" by Beijing.

From Wednesday, arrivals from China will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative result obtained before departure -- "just the same as all the other travellers and returnees", a government statement said.

The decision brings to an end a spat over Covid border measures which began in January.

Then, more than a dozen countries imposed new travel rules as infections surged in China, which had just relaxed its strict zero-Covid policies.

In a tit-for-tat move, China suspended issuing short-term visas to Japanese citizens, with the Chinese foreign ministry hitting out against "discriminatory practices".

It resumed issuing visas to Japanese citizens in late January, but Japan kept its testing-on-arrival requirement for China.

Chinese tourists made up around a third of all visitors to Japan before the pandemic.

Last week, Britain also said travellers flying in from China would no longer need proof of a negative test from April 5.

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