Minister Vows To Boost Airport Antigen Tests
Japan's health minister has vowed to double the daily capacity of coronavirus antigen tests at airports to 20,000 as Japan eases entry restrictions for foreigners from around the world.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Tamura Norihisa visited the quarantine station at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday. He inspected how saliva-based antigen tests were conducted for entrants to Japan.
Japan started two days before to allow foreign nationals who have been granted mid- or long-term visas to enter the country from across the world.
In time for the resumption of cross-border travel, the government has put in place a system in which as many as 10,000 antigen tests can be administered per day at the country's three major international airports; Haneda, Narita and Kansai.
Tamura told reporters that he believes the need for antigen tests will grow further, particularly among business travelers. He said the government is ready to hear what regional airports have to say and work toward boosting the overall capacity of tests being conducted at airports across Japan to 20,000 per day.
