At least eight European countries have lifted restrictions on entry from Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. These eight countries; France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Croatia, Latvia, Cyprus and Luxembourg, will allow entry from Japan for business and travel purposes.
Following the European Union's recommendation of lifting the region's entry ban for 14 countries, including Japan, many countries have begun accepting visitors.
The EU recommended at the end of June that its 26 member states, excluding Ireland, and its four Schengen partners, including Switzerland, lift the ban, which has been in force since mid-March. However, whether action will be taken to lift the restrictions has been left up to the government of each nation, as the authority to control borders lies with them.
The Yomiuri Shimbun gathered information from 30 countries on the status of their entry bans regarding Japan through foreign ministries and Japanese embassies.
Of the eight countries, Italy will require a 14-day quarantine upon entry, while Greece will require the submission of an electronic application in advance with information including travelers' accommodation plans.
According to 2018 statistics from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), about 4 million people traveled from Japan to Europe. France, Italy, the Netherlands, Croatia, Latvia and Luxembourg accounted for 30% of the total -- or about 1.24 million people.
Spain and Sweden are scheduled to lift their entry bans for Japan on Saturday and Estonia on Monday.
Germany, on the other hand, has lifted its entry ban for eight countries, including Canada and Australia, but has not lifted the ban on Japan, due to Japan continuing its entry ban for Germany.
Japan is continuing its entry ban from the EU in principle, sayng the region has not yet gotten the virus under control, and also recommends the halting of travel from Japan to Europe.
The EU has established criteria for determining whether traveling into the region will be allowed, such as the number of infected cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks in the travelers' point of origin being below the number within the EU.
The British government, which has left the European Union and is not a member of the Schengen Agreement, announced Friday that it will no longer require the 14-day voluntary quarantine period for travelers from Japan if they enter the country after July 10.
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