JAPAN CLOSES DOORS TO KOREA & CHINA

[Anchor Lead]

The Japanese government has decided to quarantine people arriving from Korea and China for two weeks. Also, entry bans will be imposed on seven additional cities and counties in the Gyeongbuk region and no-visa entries for Koreans will be suspended. Essentially, Japan has closed its doors to Korea.

[Pkg]

​People arriving from Korea and China will be asked to stay in places designated by quarantine authorities for two weeks. That was the COVID-19 prevention measure announced by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but it was essentially a quarantine measure.

[Soundbite] SHINZO ABE(JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER) : "I ask that people arriving from Korea and China stay at places designated by quarantine authorities and not use Japanese public transportation."

This measure is to be enforced from Monday, March 9th, to the end of this month. The 90-day no-visa entry granted to Koreans will be suspended during this period as well. Entry visas already issued to Korean and Chinese nationals will no longer be valid. More areas will be added to the entry ban list tomorrow. In addition to Daegu and Cheongdo already banned, seven cities and counties in the Gyeongbuk region, including the cities of Andong and Gyeongsan and Chilgok-gun County, will go on the list. Foreigners who have been to those areas in the past 14 days will not be allowed to enter Japan. In-bound flights from Korea and China are permitted to land only in Narita International Airport near Tokyo and Osaka's Kansai International Airport. Haneda Airport, the closest airport to Tokyo, is off-limits to those flights. The Abe government is suspected of taking these strong measures on Korea and China as questions have been raised about whether the Summer Olympics in Tokyo will be postponed or cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak.