Japan Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, on Nov. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan will deny re-entry of all foreigners, including residents with long-term visas, who have recently been to any of 10 African countries likely to have widespread infections of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the government said Wednesday.

       The measure comes into effect Thursday and will remain in place "for the time being," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference.

       The 10 countries subject to the re-entry ban are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

       Japan, which confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant on Tuesday, has already banned new entries of foreigners from around the world.

       Exemptions can be made for "special circumstances" involving foreign spouses and children of Japanese citizens, diplomats and humanitarian cases.

       But Matsuno said Japan is narrowing eligibility for such exemptions as part of efforts to keep out the Omicron variant, and will no longer accept government-funded international students or participants in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.

       The World Health Organization has named the strain a "variant of concern," warning it may be highly transmissible or able to evade immunity gained from vaccines or previous infections.

       In addition to the ban on new entries of foreigners, Japan now requires Japanese citizens and foreign residents returning from 27 countries and territories to spend up to 10 days of their two-week quarantine period in a government-designated facility.

       From Thursday, returnees from Nigeria, Portugal, Spain and Sweden will need to stay three days in a government-designated facility, the Foreign Ministry said.

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0