An online petition demanding that Japan ease its tight entry rules aimed at preventing the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus was submitted to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday with about 12,000 signatures, a civic group said.
The petition addressed to Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says that the "excessive" border controls have affected those who want to see their families living overseas.
Japan has banned new entries by foreign nationals since Nov. 30, following increasing reports on the highly contagious variant. Even the entry of spouses and children of Japanese nationals or of permanent residents is banned outside of "special exceptional circumstances."