Coronavirus: Japan’s quarantine rules for Hong Kong, China, South Korea dismissed as ‘too late’

Visitors from China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Macau will now be quarantined for two weeks, and people in Japan are either relieved or unimpressed

Complaints over a lack of testing sparked fears Japan is trying to give the impression that infection rates are still relatively low

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Tourists seen wearing masks at Asakusa district, downtown of Tokyo on March 5, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:12pm, 6 Mar 2020Updated: 8:15pm, 6 Mar 2020

In Japan, the government’s decision to require visitors arriving from China, Hong Kong, Macau or South Korea to undergo a two-week quarantine for the novel coronavirus has largely been shrugged off as an inevitable move, or criticised as coming too late.

“Should have done this as soon as the outbreak occurred in China,” said one message on the Japan Today news website. “[Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe was too interested in playing world statesman and [protecting] tourism. Too little, too late.”

Another commenter said: “Most of us posting on here have been calling for this weeks and weeks ago. Better late than never, I guess.”

Others are calling for more extreme measures. One message on the site read, “Just close the borders”, while another poster added: “Not quarantine. Deny entry!”

Min Zheng Wan, a Chinese national who works in the Japan offices of Shenzhen-based drone manufacturer DJI Inc, said the Japanese government’s decision was forcing many companies to alter their operations.

“Something like this will not affect me personally too much, but I can see this causing a lot of new disruption for companies,” Min said.