Source: Lonely Planet
Security & Justice
State Action Signals Change in Tackling Longstanding Illegal Land Grabs in Jbeil District
For years, the serene villages of Jbeil's highlands have been far from peaceful. Ghabat, a Maronite village nestled between the predominantly Shiite towns of Afqa and Lassa, has become a focal point of growing tensions due to territorial disputes.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Mawlawi Ensures Strict Monitoring for Wanted Syrian Regime Figures at Beirut Airport
Caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, conducted an inspection tour of Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to review the security arrangements and measures implemented by the Airport Security Apparatus ahead of the holiday season.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Monday 17 January 2022 14:28:02
Japan Extends Travel Ban through February - But When Can International Tourists Visit?
Japan has extended its travel ban on overseas arrivals until at least the end of February, but will international tourists be permitted to visit once the ban is lifted?
Japan once again sealed its borders in November, banning the entry of all foreign visitors into the country in response to the emergence of the Omicron strain of COVID-19.
Prior to the current ban, business travelers, international students, foreign residents, and Japanese nationals living overseas were permitted to travel to Japan when it lifted its blanket travel ban on November 8, as well as athletes and approved visitors during the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
But for the duration of the pandemic the rest of the world has been effectively shut out under one of the toughest COVID-19 border policies in the world.
Japan recorded its first case of Omicron on November 30 and since then infection rates have steadily increased. The government's plan to extend the travel ban until the end of February (allowing only foreigners with resident status to return and exceptional cases) is intended to give it time to overcome the peak of Japan's sixth wave.
"We'll maintain the current framework of measures until the end of February... while taking necessary measures from the perspective of humanitarian and national interests," Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida told Reuters.
When can tourists travel to Japan?
Once the ban is lifted at the end of February, it's unclear who will be permitted to travel to Japan. Presumably Japan will allow business travelers and international students to return again and resume the phased reopening plan that had started in early November, but that hasn't been confirmed.
As for international tourists the situation is even less clear. "Unfortunately, we don't have any more information than the extension of the travel ban through February," a spokesperson for the tourism board told Lonely Planet.
While a statement on US Embassy in Japan's website reads: "travel for tourism and most other short-term purposes is still not permitted, and there is no indication that this will change in the short term. Visa-free travel is suspended."
Despite the travel bans, government is sticking to its 2030 tourism goals—so it's possible we'll see a gradual return to tourism later this year.