Sunday’s Nikkei wrote that the GOJ is planning to maintain tight controls on the entry of foreign nationals following the extension of the state of emergency for Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures to curb the spread of COVID-19. If the declaration is lifted as scheduled for March 21, the government will resume allowing foreign visitors to enter Japan from countries that have not detected new coronavirus variants. Business travel exemptions for China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam for short trips are likely to remain suspended as virus variants have been found in these countries.