Japan Considers Suspending Business Track with 11 Countries Including Korea and China

Strong Measures to Completely Suspend New Foreign Entrants Due to the Spread of Variant Virus

▲Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The Japanese government is reportedly considering a temporary suspension of the "Business Track," a measure to ease entry restrictions for 11 countries and regions including South Korea and China. This would effectively be a high-intensity measure to completely halt new entries of foreigners.

According to a report by Asahi Shimbun on the 5th citing multiple government officials, the Japanese government initially planned to suspend the Business Track only for countries and regions where local infections of COVID-19 variants were confirmed. However, facing strong criticism from both ruling and opposition parties, it is now reportedly discussing suspending it for the time being regardless of such conditions.

The Japanese government will not allow Business Track entries during the period when a state of emergency is declared. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had been reluctant to reissue a state of emergency due to concerns over economic downturn caused by COVID-19, but as the number of confirmed cases worsens, it is expected that a state of emergency will be declared as early as the 7th. The state of emergency is expected to last about a month.

Recently, as variant viruses have spread, the Japanese government has stopped new entries of foreigners from all countries and regions worldwide, while recognizing the Business Track as an exception. According to Asahi's report, this means that new entries of foreigners will be effectively completely suspended. Applying the Business Track exception exempts entrants from quarantine after arrival.

Last year, South Korean lawmakers who visited Japan were also granted a similar exception, allowing them to meet Japanese politicians without quarantine after entry. If the Business Track is suspended, political exchanges between South Korea and Japan are likely to become practically difficult.

On the 13th, South Korean lawmakers belonging to the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League are scheduled to hold a joint seminar with the Japanese lawmakers' group, the Japan-Korea Parliamentary League, in Tokyo. Whether the event will proceed as planned is uncertain due to the possible suspension of the Business Track.

Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan on this day was 3,325, exceeding 3,000 for seven consecutive days from the 29th of last month to the 4th. This is the first time since COVID-19 was discovered in Japan. As of this day, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was 249,246, and deaths were confirmed at 3,693.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.