BEIJING: China's Foreign Ministry has decided to suspend visa waivers for Japanese nationals visiting China for stays of 15 days or less for sightseeing and other purposes, amid the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan.

The planned suspension, notified to the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Monday, will take effect on midnight of Monday. When to lift the measure has not been decided.

The visa waivers will be suspended also for Japanese nationals visiting China for the purpose of meeting with friends or taking connecting flights.

Visas will continue to be waived for people who visit China on business or to meet with relatives, but on condition that they show, when entering the country, the original documents issued within seven days by those in China who invited them, according to the ministry.

Beijing is vigilant against the possibility of the COVID-19 virus, which originated in Wuhan, the capital of the inland China province of Hubei, flowing back to the country from abroad. China has already started to quarantine travelers from Japan for 14 days in cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

JIJI Press