TOKYO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday said that the nation's travel ban will be extended to cover foreign travelers from 18 European countries and Iran in an effort to curb the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The countries that will fall under the latest ban are Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Vatican.
The foreign ministry said that foreign travelers who have visited any of these countries within 14 days of their arrival in Japan will be refused entry.
Motegi told a press conference on the matter that exceptions to the ban, which will be finalized by a task force headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, would be unlikely.
"Barring special circumstances, there won't be any exceptions to this rule," Motegi said.
In terms of outbound travel from Japan to these countries, the foreign ministry has issued a warning against such travel, raising its advisory on them to level 3, in a move described by Kyodo News as a "de facto step toward an entry ban."
With the forthcoming summer Olympics scheduled to be held in Tokyo facing postponement amid the global pandemic, Japan's travel bans are severely denting its already fragile economy.
The world's third largest economy has become increasingly reliant on tourism, particularly from its closest neighbors, as a key pillar of economic growth in recent years.
