As China has been bolstering its "COVID zero" policy ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, many Japanese workers in the capital, some of whom have not returned to their home country for around two years, have remained cut off from their families.

While urging residents of the city to refrain from traveling to other regions, the Beijing government has tightly restricted the entry of family members of Japanese employees in a bid to prevent the intrusion of the coronavirus.

Even if such people can enter China, they must be quarantined at a designated facility for 21 days upon arrival in a city other than Beijing, with all direct flights between Japan and the capital having been suspended since March 2020.