May 16 ,2020. 10 hours ago – 10:43 | KYODO NEWS.

TOKYO – Japan expanded its entry ban Saturday over the coronavirus pandemic to include Mexico and 12 other countries.

The other 12 are Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Kazakhstan, the Maldives, Sao Tome and Principe, and Uruguay.

Foreign travelers, including permanent residents of Japan, who have been to those countries within two weeks of arrival will now be turned away.

The expansion came after the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday raised the travel advisory for the 13 countries to Level 3, the second-highest warning which urges Japanese nationals to avoid any trips to these areas.

Their addition brings the number of blacklisted countries and regions to 100, also including the United States, China and the whole of Europe.

Foreign visitors to Japan have already slowed to a trickle, falling more than 90 percent in recent months compared with a year earlier and dealing a heavy blow to the world’s third-largest economy.

While Japanese nationals are exempt from the entry ban, they are required to be tested for the coronavirus and to self-isolate for two weeks after re-entering the country.

CR: KYODO NEWS