The embassies of the Peoples Republic of China in Tokyo and Seoul on Tuesday have revealed the suspension of issuing of short-term visas to South Korea and Japan citizens as safety measure to the wake of COVID-19 in the country.
South Korea and Japan have joined many other countries to impose travel ban on Chinese citizens over concerns about rising contraction of COVID-19 after Beijing changed its stringent “Zero COVID” policy last month following protests across China.
China said said the restrictions on its citizens are discriminatory and not based on science.
Chinese embassy in Seoul says, “Chinese embassies and consulates in Korea will suspend the issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens,” adding that the measures would be “adjusted again in line with South Korea’s removal of the discriminatory entry restrictions on China”, per Al Jazeera reports.
Chinese embassy in Tokyo announced in a brief statement late on Tuesday that the issuing of visas for Japanese citizens would also be halted, giving no specific reason or indication of how long the measure would last.
The move came soon after Japan toughened COVID-19 rules for travellers coming directly from China, requiring a negative result for a PCR test taken less than 72 hours before departure, as well as a negative test on arrival in Japan.