Staying on with COVID-19 stories. In its highest ever count for a single day, Japan recorded 415 COVID-19 deaths, according to the country's Health Ministry data. Japan showed a 4% increase in COVID cases compared to the previous week, while the country recorded over 2160 newly confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization, japan had the world's largest confirmed COVID-19 infections and the second most deaths after the United States in the last seven days.
This comes as neighboring China sees a surge in its COVID cases. Now, on Tuesday, Japan made a negative COVID-19 test mandatory for travelers from mainland China due to the rapid spread of the virus.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said travelers from China who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has asked Japan to withdraw a COVID restriction that requires passengers flights from the financial hub to land at only four designated Japanese airports.
Japan, which is a top travel destination for Hong Kong people, had announced earlier that it would limit flights from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China to Tokyo's two airports plus Osaka and Nagoya.
From Friday, Japan opened to tourists fully in October after two and a half years of COVID restrictions that kept out almost all foreign travelers. In 2019, travelers from mainland China made up 30% of inbound tourists visiting Japan.
