Japan is making final arrangements to implement a tuberculosis (TB) testing system for visitors from six countries.
Health minister Keizo Takemi named China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal,
the Philippines and Vietnam as the countries that have the most
travellers diagnosed with TB when in Japan.
At a date to be fixed next year, people in those countries will be
asked to take TB tests at Japanese government-designated medical
institutions before they travel to Japan. If they test positive, Japan
will not issue visas to them.
According to the health ministry, 10,235 new TB patients were
registered in Japan in 2022, of which almost 12% were visiting from
overseas.