Japan lobbying to avoid U.S. restriction

The government has been ramping up lobbying efforts to ensure that the United States will not restrict the entry of passengers from Japan amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

 The government’s efforts come out of concerns that such a restriction would deal a significant blow to Japan’s economic activities, and that European countries may follow suit. 

 Japan is making its case to the United States that any such decision should be based on accurate information, explaining how the government has been undertaking infection control measures.
 “The United States has not implemented any entry restriction measures on Japan, nor has there been any concrete talk of introducing such a move,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday at the House of Representatives Foreign Committee. “We will continue to make careful efforts.”

 Tokyo has increased pressure on Washington because there is a growing concern in the United States about the infection risk in Japan.

 U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States is closely watching Italy, South Korea and Japan.

 On Thursday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents returning from Japan to remain isolated at home for 14 days.

 Should the United States impose an entry restriction on Japan, it will seriously affect the economies of both countries.

 At the time of a 2018 survey by the Foreign Ministry, there were 8,929 Japanese-affiliated companies operating in the United States, while the number of people traveling to the United States had reached 3.49 million, according to a survey in the same year by the Japan National Tourism Organization.
 “If Japan’s ally, the United States, restricts entries from Japan, it would have a great impact on the economy, and on politics as well,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said. 

 Twenty-seven countries and regions including Pacific islands and Middle East nations have restricted entries from Japan, as of 1 p.m. Saturday.

 If the United States, boasting high medical standards, imposes entry restrictions on Japan, European countries will likely follow suit, the official said.

The Foreign Ministry and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry have been cooperating with the U.S. government on this issue. 

 Since February, Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shinsuke Sugiyama has met with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to explain that the number of new coronavirus infections in Japan has been kept below that of other countries on a population basis.
 Sugiyama also has told Azar that Japan is strengthening its containment measures at ports and airports. 

 The two ministries are also lobbying the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Embassy in Japan.