China resumes issuing visas to Japanese citizens

The Chinese embassy in Tokyo announced on Sunday that it will resume issuing visas to Japanese citizens.

The move ends a retaliatory move against Japan’s decision to mandate Covid testing for travelers arriving from mainland China, where infections surged.

“As of today, the Embassy and the offices of the Consulates General of the People’s Republic of China will resume issuing ordinary visas to Japanese citizens,” the embassy said in a brief online message without elaborating.

China stopped issuing visas to Japanese citizens on Jan. 10 after Tokyo began requiring people arriving from the mainland to test before traveling and upon landing.

China also suspended issuing visas to South Koreans earlier this month for similar reasons. The Chinese embassy in South Korea had not yet lifted the suspension on Sunday evening.

Japan still requires those traveling on direct flights from the mainland to show evidence of negative test results from samples taken no more than 72 hours before departure from China.

They also continue to be tested upon arrival in Japan.

In early January, Beijing called Tokyo’s move “discriminatory,” though Japan claimed it was necessary given China’s spread of infections.

AFP

All rights reserved. This material and other digital content on this website may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without the prior express written permission of PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]