Opinion
With borders shut, Japan risks alienating allies
Business leaders and academics have urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to open the borders to foreigners, as Japan records 100,000 daily cases of the omicron variant.
Ben AscioneContributorTokyo | Japan’s borders are closed, but unlike zero-COVID-19 China or Western Australia, it’s in the middle of an omicron wave, with 100,000 daily cases and rising. Shutting the border is popular in Japan, but the policy is hurting its international reputation and engagement. Yet domestic politics means Japan is unlikely to open up any time soon.
Japan has faced international criticism since shutting its borders in November in response to the omicron variant. The move has been branded “unscientific”, discriminatory against foreign nationals and out of step with other G7 democracies.
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