Japan has announced the suspension, as of Friday, of the entry ban on citizens from 106 countries, but will continue to limit the granting of visas, including tourist visas.

According to Lusa, the measure, announced on Wednesday, partially opens the doors to the entry of US nationals, a large part of the EU, including Portugal, and countries such as East Timor, Brazil, Cape Verde and Mozambique.

The ban remains in place for 56 countries, including Russia, most of Africa - including Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe - and some Eastern European states.

For some months now, Japan has been progressively easing a strict immigration policy that has been in place since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, and which for more than a year has kept the archipelago virtually isolated.

Despite the reopening, Japan has temporarily suspended visa waiver agreements, so it is currently mandatory to apply for a visa to travel to the Asian country.

The authorities have set a daily ticket quota, whose current limit is 7,000 people per day, between Japanese and foreigners, a number that will rise to 10,000 from April 10.

On April 1, the Japanese government had already lifted the recommendation to its citizens not to travel to the same 106 countries in Europe, North America, and Latin America because of the pandemic.