Japan to Halt Visa-Free Entry for Mexicans on Swine Flu Cases

[sharon sanders]

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Japan to Halt Visa-Free Entry for Mexicans on Swine Flu Cases
2009-04-28 03:36:52.17 GMT


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By Takashi Hirokawa and Toko Sekiguchi
April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Japan will suspend visa-free entry
for Mexican nationals and advise its own citizens to defer trips
to the Latin American nation, the epicenter of a global swine-
flu outbreak.

Mexicans will have to provide a doctor?s note and fill in a
health form to obtain a visa, Foreign Ministry official Kazuhiko
Ono said by telephone in Tokyo today. Japan?s consulates in
Mexico may only accept applications by mail to avoid physical
contact with applicants, Ono said.

A special Japanese government task force will meet today to
discuss the outbreak, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura
said. Japan will also tighten quarantine requirements for ships
traveling from Mexico,? Kawamura told reporters, without
providing details.

The government plans to ?isolate? people infected with
the flu strain, according to a statement distributed at
Kawamura?s press conference. Japan has so far reported no cases.

Japan?s measures to prevent infection follow the World
Health Organization?s move yesterday to raise its global
pandemic alert to the highest level since the system was adopted
in 2005.

There have been 40 cases of the swine flu reported in the
U.S., and flu-related deaths reached 149 in Mexico. South Korea
is testing a patient suspected of contracting the virus,
according to its Ministry of Health.

Mexico is one of 62 countries and regions whose residents
don?t need a visa for short-term visits to Japan, according to
the Foreign Ministry?s Web site.

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Japan to Halt Visa-Free Entry for Mexicans on Swine Flu Cases

Japan Tightens Visa Rules For Mexicans



TOKYO (AFP)--Japan Tuesday tightened visa rules for citizens of Mexico, the center of the global swine flu outbreak, and told its own nationals there to consider leaving the country.

Japan, which earlier stepped up health controls at its airports, also booked 500 hotel rooms near Tokyo's Narita International Airport in case it needs them to quarantine infected travellers, Jiji Press reported.

Tokyo took the new steps as Mexico said the number of probable deaths from the virus had risen to 149 and the World Health Organization raised its alert to signal a "significant increase in risk of a pandemic." Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Japan's embassy in Mexico would from Tuesday suspend a visa waiver programme - meaning Mexicans no longer get Japanese visas on arrival but have to apply in advance, an official said.

"This is part of our effort to stop the virus from entering our country at the border," the foreign ministry official said.

Nakasone had also "asked Japanese citizens in Mexico to consider their early departure if possible as there could be a problem with leaving the country in the future," said the official, who declined to be named.

Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, meanwhile, asked Japanese people "to consider avoiding trips to Mexico and other affected countries." The flu virus has spread to several countries in recent days. The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. doubled to 40 Monday, while the U.K. and Spain recorded their first swine flu victims.

Jiji Press also reported that Japan's health ministry was in talks with hotel operators near Kansai, Chubu and Fukuoka airports to secure more rooms to quarantine passengers.

If the WHO further heightens its alert level, Japan would quarantine arrivals suspected of having the disease, as well as those who accompany them and the flight attendants, for 10 days of tests, the report said.

The Tokyo metropolitan government has released anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza for 8,000 potential patients to major hospitals in the capital in case of a future outbreak of swine flu, officials said.

Several Japanese companies, including Honda Motor Co. (HMC), said they would cancel business trips to Mexico and the U.S. for now.

Beverage maker Suntory Holdings Ltd. said it closed its liquor manufacturing plant in Mexico City.

"The plant will be closed until May 3," said a company spokeswoman in Tokyo. " The company has also closed five of its eight Japanese restaurants in Mexico." Japanese restaurant chain Matsuya, meanwhile, took dishes with Mexican pork off the menu, but the government has said it has no plan to ban pork imports from Mexico or the U.S.

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