Press Conference by the Prime Minister regarding the Border Control Measures related to the Omicron Strain of COVID-19

"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)

Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] Press Conference by the Prime Minister regarding the Border Control Measures related to the Omicron Strain of COVID-19

[Place]

[Date] December 2, 2021

[Source] Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet

[Notes] Provisional Translation

[Full text]

（Regarding whether the request to suspend new international airline reservations means that Japanese nationals in principle will not be allowed to return home unlike under its previous policy）

Let me just clarify that the latest policy we announced on November 29 was intended to lower the cap of the daily number of Japanese nationals returning home to around 3,500. I was informed of a subsequent request to suspend new reservations, which ended up causing confusion to some people. Following this development, I instructed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to give due considerations to the needs of Japanese nationals wishing to return home. Officials at the ministry should be ready to provide further details.