Japan tightens border controls for arrivals from six countries amid new COVID variant

FILE PHOTO: A passenger is seen at the check-in area of the international flight terminal at Tokyo International Airport, commonly known as Haneda airport, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan December 28, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO — Japan will tighten border controls for people arriving from six African nations from midnight Friday (1500 GMT) after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa.

Those arriving from South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho will be required to undergo a 10-day quarantine period in government-determined accommodation, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

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