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By NATSUMI ADACHI for Asahi Shimbun
Travelers from six Asian countries where tuberculosis is prevalent will have to undergo screenings for the disease before visiting Japan for three months or longer, the health ministry announced Dec. 26.
The restrictions will start for the Philippines, Nepal, and Vietnam in 2025, while the starting dates for China, Indonesia and Myanmar are still being coordinated.
Nationals of these six countries will have to submit a certificate showing that they are tuberculosis-free when they apply for a medium- or long-term Japanese visa.
To gain the health certificate, applicants must be checked by a doctor and undergo a chest X-ray examination at a medical institution designated by Japan in their country. However, nationals of those six countries who currently live in a different country or region will be exempt.
In the Philippines and Nepal, applications for the TB test will open on March 24, and submission of the certificate will be required for Japanese visa applications starting on June 23.
In Vietnam, applications for the TB test will open on May 26, and submission of the certificate will become mandatory on Sept. 1.
In Japan, 10,096 people were newly registered as TB patients in 2023. Sixteen percent were born abroad, and more than 80 percent of them were from the six restricted countries.
The number of foreign-born TB patients is increasing in Japan, especially among the younger generation.
The United States, Britain and other countries have already implemented similar pre-entry TB testing requirements.
In Japan, the health ministry’s expert committee had proposed the introduction of a similar system in 2018, but the plan was put on hold due to a sharp decline in inbound tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TB is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is mostly transmitted through the respiratory tract via coughing and sneezing.
According to the health ministry, 10 to 15 percent of people infected with TB develop the disease within one or two years, but the bacteria can remain in the body and cause illness several years to several decades later.
In 2021, the prevalence of tuberculosis in Japan was 9.2 cases per 100,000 people, falling below the threshold for low-incidence countries--10.0 cases per 100,000 people--for the first time.
Source: Asahi
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15568252
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