The Japanese government on Thursday backpedaled on its plan to completely halt bookings for inbound international flights this month in the wake of criticism that the measure against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus goes too far.
Prime Minister
Under the measure, Japanese citizens and foreign residents would not have been able to return until next year unless they already had reservations.
The government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Following the move,
The ministry will consider allowing reservations within the daily cap of 3,500 people arriving from overseas, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Matsuno, meanwhile, said the government will consider shortening the eight-month period between a person receiving their second COVID-19 vaccine shot and becoming eligible for a booster shot "based on changes in the infection situation, preparations by local authorities and vaccine supply."
Booster shots began being administered to medical personnel on Wednesday, with the rest of the population set to get them next year.
The Omicron variant has a large number of mutations and scientists fear it may be more transmissible than previous strains of the coronavirus or be able to evade immunity provided by vaccines.
The
But the measures have also been criticized as going too far or for being discriminatory.
The
"Our concern here is that we apply public health principles, not political principles to selecting measures that are used to control the spread of diseases," Ryan said at a press conference Wednesday. "The idea that you can put a hermetic seal on most countries is frankly not possible."
==Kyodo
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