Japan’s rigid coronavirus travel ban leaves foreign workers in a quandary

Almost everyone except citizens is barred from entry if they arrive from one of 100 countries, regardless of their visa status

An Indonesian engineer says he left the country on temporary childcare leave, only to find he could neither return nor access his money in Japan

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A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Japan’s Chiba prefecture. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 1:48pm, 20 May 2020Updated: 11:55pm, 20 May 2020

William Chin faced an impossible choice. The long-term resident of Japan left for Taiwan on Tuesday to attend a company board meeting and avoid losing his position as chairman. But now that he has left Tokyo, there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to return to his wife and daughter.

The coronavirus pandemic has made international travel a crapshoot almost everywhere in the world, but Japan has thrown up an especially steep barrier to entry.

Almost everyone except citizens is barred from entry if they arrive from one of 100 countries, including the US and most of Europe, regardless of their visa or residence status. Japanese citizens are discouraged from international travel, but if they do go abroad, they’re allowed to return.

“People should be treated equally under the law, regardless of their nationalities,” said Chin.

He’s lived in Tokyo, where he also has a business, for five years, and said he thought there would be blowback. “I think it is against the Japanese government’s interest to allow such a discriminatory rule to continue.”

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Like border controls around the world, Japan’s policy is designed to lessen the risk of people infected with the coronavirus arriving from overseas.