Japan is closed to visitors.
Aiming to curb the spread of the new highly infectious coronavirus mutation first detected in the UK, Japan said it is temporarily banning entry to people who do not live there.
The ban will take effect on Monday and will run until January, Reuters reported.
Japanese citizens and foreign residents will need proof of a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before traveling before they are allowed to return. Travelers must be quarantined two weeks after arrival, the government said.
Japan has found five cases of the variant spreading rapidly in passengers arriving from Britain. It has also been detected in a man who visited the United Kingdom and in a member of his family – the first cases of infected people found outside the airport controls – Nippon TV reported on Saturday.
Several nations have banned or restricted travel to and from the UK as the rapidly spreading strain of the virus moves through the population there.
Tokyo reported 949 new cases on Saturday, a new high for the Japanese capital as the country struggles with a nationwide rise. Japan now has about 4,000 cases nationwide, according to the Associated Press.
Japan has not been able to slow down infections despite government requests for people to avoid going out to dinner and parties during the holiday season.