TOKYO: The Japanese government is considering strengthening its border control on travelers from India, which is seeing explosive growth in novel coronavirus infections, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Travelers arriving in Japan from India are currently obliged to stay at designated facilities for three days upon their arrival as part of the requested 14-day self-quarantine, as Tokyo has designated India as a country where a coronavirus variant is spreading.

The government is examining measures, such as an extension of the three-day period at designated facilities to six days and a ban on entry from India, after failing to shut out a British variant, which triggered a fourth wave of infections in Japan, the sources said.

A similar step is being considered for travelers from Pakistan and Nepal, which border India, the sources said.

In India, a so-called double-mutation virus, feared to be more transmissible than the original strain, is believed to be rampant.

On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry requested Japanese nationals in India to consider returning home temporarily if they can obtain a document certifying a negative result of a coronavirus polymerase chain reaction test within 72 hours of their departure.

As of October last year, some 10,000 Japanese nationals were living in India. Commercial passenger flights are still available between the two countries.

According to the latest government data, 443 Japanese and foreign nationals who arrived in Japan from India underwent coronavirus tests over the week from March 28. Seven of them tested positive.

The government is considering announcing the possible stricter border control as early as Friday, when it will reach a formal decision to extend Japan’s third COVID-19 state of emergency.

JIJI Press