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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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Why you can trust SCMP
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.
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“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.
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