bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Amber Wang

China has resumed issuing visas to Japanese citizens, the Chinese embassy in Tokyo said on Sunday, without offering a reason for the decision.
The announcement came a little over a week after the Japanese embassy in Beijing said that its visa service in China, which was temporarily reduced because of the Covid-19 pandemic, had resumed normal operations.
On January 10, Beijing suspended issuing visas to citizens Japan and South Korea in retaliation for Covid-related curbs on travellers from China.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the suspension was necessary to protest against “discriminatory entry restrictions” on its citizens.
How will visa rows affect China’s ties with Japan and South Korea?
Following a surge in Covid-19 cases in China last month, Japan tightened its rules for travellers coming directly from the country, requiring negative results from a PCR test taken less than 72 hours before departure as well as a negative test upon arrival.
On January 19, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called on countries to lift “discriminatory restrictions” targeting Chinese travellers as soon as possible and to work with Beijing to restore normal cross-border travel.
China will allow group tours to 20 countries to resume from February 6, but Japan is not among the approved destinations.
In 2019, before the pandemic, about 9.59 million tourists from mainland China visited Japan, accounting for about 30 per cent of all inbound tourists, according to government data.
Their spending totalled 1.8 trillion yen (US$13.6 billion), or 36.8 per cent of total visitor expenditure.
China warns Japan against attempts to ‘ideologise’ supply chain dealings
Japan has said it will formally downgrade the legal status of Covid-19 on May 8, easing prevention rules to put the disease in the same category as common infections such as seasonal influenza.
Beijing is yet to say when it will restart processing visa applications for South Koreans.
On Friday, South Korea extended its restrictions on issuing short-term visas to travellers from mainland China until the end of February, citing concerns about a viral resurgence following massive gatherings and cross-country travel during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Seoul had previously planned to suspend issuing short-term visas to Chinese travellers until January 31, prompting Beijing to retaliate by suspending short-term visa applications for South Koreans.
The United States has also imposed new restrictions on travellers from China, requiring them to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the country.


World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he understood why numerous countries had taken measures against travellers from China, given the shortage of information about Covid-19 in the country.
Earlier this month, China published its death toll for the first time since its abrupt pivot away from its zero-Covid in December.
The number of deaths, hospitalisations and severe cases have been dropping as about 80 per cent of the country’s population have been infected, according to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Chinese mainland recorded 6,364 Covid-19 deaths in hospitals from January 20 to 26, according to China CDC data released on Sunday. The death toll has dropped by nearly half compared to the previous week.
The China CDC also said genome sequencing indicated that the dominant variants in China were known ones.


Hongkonger’s worsening eczema, food allergies fuel her doubts over Covid jabs

China’s aviation sector in clear skies of profit after 4 turbulent years

China preps for inbound Lunar New Year travel surge after visa-free expansion

China is visa-free for most of Europe, but not this EU trio. Why?

China's border reopening

China resumes issuing visas to Japanese citizens, easing retaliation over Covid travel curbs

South Korea has extended its restrictions on short-term visas for Chinese travellers, citing concerns about a Covid-19 resurgence following Lunar New Year gatherings. Photo: AP

How will rows over Covid-19 visa restrictions affect China’s ties with Japan and South Korea?

South Korean health workers guide travellers arriving from China at a Covid-19 testing centre at Incheon International Airport on January 3. Photo: AFP

Travellers arriving from China are directed to a Covid-19 testing centre at Incheon International Airport in South Korea on January 3. Photo: AFP

China retaliates against travel restrictions by suspending short-term visas for Japanese and South Koreans

China says its suspension of visas for South Koreans was triggered by “South Korea’s discriminatory entry restrictions on China”.  Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

China shelves port visas and visa-free transit for Japanese and South Koreans

Japan has requested travellers from China to provide negative results from a PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure. Photo: Kyodo

Chinese tourists slowly resuming overseas trips, but Lunar New Year numbers still well down on pre-Covid levels

Local dancers welcome China tourists to Bali at the island’s main airport. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese visitors at a temple in Chiang Mai, one of the most popular destinations during the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: AP 

News

China

Diplomacy

Beijing’s embassy in Tokyo says it has ended visa suspensions imposed after Japan tightened pandemic-related restrictions on Chinese travellers
The sudden shift follows Japan’s announcement that visa services in China have returned to normal


Beijing’s embassy in Tokyo says it has ended visa suspension imposed after Japan tightened pandemic-related restrictions on Chinese travellers.


China resumes issuing visas to Japanese citizens, easing retaliation over Covid travel curbs

Beijing’s embassy in Tokyo says it has ended visa suspensions imposed after Japan tightened pandemic-related restrictions on Chinese travellers The sudden shift follows Japan’s announcement that visa services in China have returned to normal

Beijing’s embassy in Tokyo says it has ended visa suspensions imposed after Japan tightened pandemic-related restrictions on Chinese travellers

The sudden shift follows Japan’s announcement that visa services in China have returned to normal