Japan is developing an electronic system to track foreign visitors to contain the spread of COVID-19 from abroad ahead of the 2021 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games to be held next summer.
The government also stopped issuing entry visas Monday.
This precautionary tracking measure was announced by digital transformation minister Takuya Hirai. Hirai said he wanted to make GPS-based digital tracking mandatory for all visitors entering Japan.
The government wants to complete the monitoring system in time for both the Tokyo Summer Olympics between July 23 and Aug. 8 and the Paralympics between Aug. 24 and Sept. 5.
Japan will require citizens and foreign visitors to show proof of a negative coronavirus test result within 72 hours of departure for Japan, undergo another test upon arrival and residents to quarantine for two weeks.
The new restrictions aim to reduce the number of new cases quickly - especially serious cases requiring hospital care. Many local governments warn they are close to running out of hospital beds for the seriously ill. They also lack medical personnel.
Japan on Saturday announced a ban on nonresident foreign citizens entering.
The ban means most nonresident foreign nationals won't be able to enter Japan from Dec. 28 until the end of January.
Japan has detected a new and more contagious mutation of the coronavirus first detected in the United Kingdom. Japan has banned visitors from the UK.
On Saturday, seven people arriving from the UK were discovered to have been infected with the new strain -said to be 70% more contagious.
Japan saw 708 new COVID-19 cases Sunday. On Saturday the country reported a record 3,881 infections, including a high of 949 in Tokyo.
Exempted from the entry ban are business travelers from 11 countries and territories, including China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan.
Nonresident foreign nationals who obtained visas before Monday will be allowed in. Foreigners that have stayed in the UK or South Africa within 14 days of applying for a visa will be denied entry.
