China Freezes Visas For Japanese Travelers

China has suspended issuing visas to Japanese travelers, travel industry sources said, after Beijing threatened to retaliate against countries that introduced tighter COVID-19 entry restrictions for Chinese travelers from China, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: As Beijing reopened its borders and abandoned quarantine measures on Sunday, Japan further tightened its border controls for travelers from China.

The visa suspension, which was notified to travel agencies in Japan, came as the Chinese Embassy in South Korea announced earlier in the day that similar measures for South Korean visitors would be in effect "until discriminatory entry restrictions against China are lifted."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Tuesday that China "firmly opposes the discriminatory entry restrictions in disregard of scientific facts" adopted by a few countries and takes reciprocal measures.

The spokesman called on those countries not to take the opportunity to "engage in political manipulation."

Many nations have demanded that the Chinese government be honest about the raging COVID outbreaks as Beijing issued impossible numbers about the death toll and that the outbreaks are abating, Mainichi Shimbun also reported.

Besides Japan and South Korea, several other countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Spain, have also stepped up border controls for travelers from China.

As Beijing reopened its borders and abandoned quarantine measures on Sunday, Japan further tightened its border controls for travelers from China, requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test before departure amid a surge of cases in the neighboring country.

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