TOKYO — Japan and South Korea defended their public health restrictions on travelers from China on Wednesday, a day after China stopped issuing new visas in both countries in apparent retaliation.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said he finds it “significantly regrettable” that China stopped issuing short-term visas to South Koreans and called for China to align its pandemic steps with “scientific and objective facts.”
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno criticized China for “one-sidedly” restricting visa issuances to Japanese nationals “because of a reason that is not related to COVID-19 measures.”
China’s Foreign Ministry threatened countermeasures last week against countries that had announced new virus testing requirements for travelers from China following a surge in COVID-19 infections there. It remained unclear whether China would expand the visa suspensions to others that have imposed stricter virus testing on passengers from China.
Source : AP News
