Japan to require visitors from China test negative for tuberculosis amid uptick in imported cases
- Anyone arriving in Japan from Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam or the Philippines will also be required to have undergone a test for the disease
- Supporters of the policy point to similar requirements in other countries for long-term visitors, including mainland China, the US and Britain
They cautioned, however, that the new requirements had to be clearly explained to the countries affected as misleading media reports or comments on social media could stir animosity at a time when national feelings were already running high over political and historical tensions.
The new requirement was confirmed by Japanese health minister Keizo Takemi in a November 16 meeting of a government panel on health and is the result of increasing reports of people with tuberculosis entering Japan. The system is expected to be implemented next year.
Of the roughly 19.8 million visitors to Japan in the first 10 months of the year, some 320,000 tourists came from mainland China, and roughly 150,000 arrived from Hong Kong, according to Japan’s National Tourism Organization.
