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| Above, the Ginza Mitsukoshi department store at Ginza Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Kyodo News reported:
TOKYO - Japan will end the current border control measures on travelers from overseas on May 8 in line with its decision to categorize COVID-19 as a common disease the same day, the government said Monday, in a major shift toward normalizing social and economic activities.
The government will simultaneously start a new genomic surveillance program, under which entrants with symptoms such as fever are tested voluntarily, with the aim of detecting new infectious diseases.
Currently, all entrants are required to present certification of three COVID-19 doses or a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of departure.
The end of the COVID-19 border controls, first introduced in February 2020 and considered by some the most stringent among the Group of Seven industrialized nations, is expected to help revive inbound tourism to Japan, where spending by foreign visitors in 2021 plunged to a fraction of the record 4.8 trillion yen ($36 billion) in 2019.
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