THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 3, 2021 at 18:27 JST
The government building housing the health ministry (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Three Japanese airline passengers who broke COVID-19 prevention rules after arriving in Japan became the first violators named publicly by the health ministry as part of its policy to discourage such behavior.
The ministry on Aug. 2 posted the names of three on its website for failing to report their health conditions and other information after entering Japan as required to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The ministry has had many such cases, but it made the names of noncompliant entrants public for the first time because the three failed to answer phone calls from authorities and gave no justifiable reasons for doing so.
Two are residents of Kumamoto and Saitama prefectures who are both in their 20s and entered Japan from South Korea on July 21. The other thirtysomething arrived from the United States the same day and lives in Tokyo. All tested negative for the virus upon arrival.
Under the quarantine law, all entrants to Japan are required to self-isolate at home or other accommodation facilities for two weeks. They also need to provide information, such as their health conditions and location data, to authorities daily through an app during the period.
The government also asks entrants to submit a written pledge in which they consent to the release of their names if they fail to send the required reports.
In June, about 30 entrants a day had not provided the information for four consecutive days, according to the ministry.
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