Prognosis
Japan’s Strict Covid Entry Ban Criticized at Home and Abroad
- Country loses out to rivals as barred students turn elsewhere
- Big business lobby calls rules unrealistic, calls for change
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Delia Visser had dreamed of moving to Japan since spending time there as a teenager in 2014. After the country’s borders again slammed shut to non-resident foreigners in November, she switched her destination to South Korea.
Visser, now 25, is one of an estimated 150,000 would-be foreign students left in limbo by the ban. The measure, which also affects workers and business visitors, is by far the strictest among the Group of Seven advanced nations.