Schools, firms in Japan preparing for eased entry restrictions on foreigners www.nhk.or.jp
Schools and firms in Japan are preparing to receive people from abroad before the country eases its coronavirus entry restrictions on Tuesday.
Japan has banned the new entry of foreigners in principle to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.
The government plans to raise the daily limit of people allowed to enter the country to 5,000 from the current 3,500.
Japanese authorities on Friday started accepting online applications from colleges, firms and other entities for entry visas for foreigners they plan to accept.
Staff at a Japanese language school in Tokyo tried to follow the online procedures, but had difficulty registering the necessary data at one point because the website was overloaded.
The school says 731 of its foreign students have been unable to come to Japan, and the longest wait is about two years. It says the students have been forced to attend classes online and some of them have to do so late at night due to time differences.
A 23-year-old Chinese student who has been waiting for six months to enter Japan says she wants to come to the country as soon as possible because she feels less motivated to study when she stays at home by herself.
An official of the school says it's important to experience culture and mingle with people to learn languages. He says his school wants to welcome students with careful preparations.
Published Date:2022-02-28