MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) Eighty-one percent of Japanese support the government's decision not to issue new visas to foreigners due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, Japanese broadcaster said on Monday, citing a poll.
Forty-three percent said they "rate the measure very highly" and 38% said they "have some positive view of it."
On the other hand, 10% do not rate the suspension highly and 4 percent "do not have any positive view at all," the poll by NHK stated.
The survey was conducted by telephone on December 11-12 with nearly 1,200 people participated.
In early December, Japan introduced tougher travel restrictions, removing visa concessions introduced three weeks earlier in early November for students, businesses and interns. Previously issued visas were also suspended. Entry from 10 African countries was also restricted - in fact, only Japanese citizens can return to the country, and foreigners, even those with a residence permit, would be able to do this only in case of special circumstances. The ban on the issuance of tourist visas has been in effect since the end of last year.
Omicron was first detected in South Africa in late November. The World Health Organization designated it a "variant of concern" due to exceptionally high number of mutations. Despite the new wave of travel bans on Africa, the new variant has since been detected in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
