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The government will double the number of controls at the airport by coronavirus to around 20,000 after the recent easing of access restrictions, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said Saturday.
Tamura plans for journalists after taking a look at quarantine operations at Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Tokyo, and Haneda Airport in Ota District.
Japan has partially resumed acceptance by others from around the world, starting Thursday, allowing access to foreign nationals planning to remain in Japan for at least 3 months.
Tamura said she believed quarantine checks were primarily for business travelers.
For others arriving from abroad, Japan initiated saliva-based antigenic tests in July, in addition to polymer chain reaction (PCR) tests, which allowed tests to be completed in a shorter period of time.
The government plans to apply the virus check formula at Narita, Haneda and Kansai airports for the time being.
It will be a similar technique for other airports if there are requests from local communities.
The Japan Times LTD. All rights reserved.