Japan has slightly eased its entry restrictions for air travelers coming from Hong Kong, adding three more airports open to travelers to and from Hong Kong.
On December 29, 2022, Hong Kong officials asked Japan to withdraw a COVID-19 restriction that requires passenger flights from Hong Kong to land at four designated Japanese airports, saying the decision will impact around 60,000 passengers.
Japan earlier said that it would limit flights from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China to just four airports from December 30, 2022: Tokyo’s two airports, Narita (NRT) and Haneda (HND) plus Osaka’s Itami Airport (ITM) and Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO).
Hours after Hong Kong’s request, Aljazeera reported that Japan has agreed to ease the restriction slightly. Under the eased rules, travelers from Hong Kong will also be able to fly into the cities of Chitose, Fukuoka and Naha, provided they have not been to mainland China within the past seven days.
There is mounting global concern over the rapid spread of COVID-19 in China following the recent easing of strict lockdown measures. It has been reported that China’s counting method does not correspond with WHO guidance, so results seem to be below the death toll in many other countries.