The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday raised the nation’s travel alert level, asking that people avoid nonessential overseas trips due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
The move is aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, as the nation has seen an increasing number of individuals who have returned from overseas trips who later tested positive for the virus. The government is also concerned that travelers may find it hard to return to Japan due to the possibility that international flights may be halted.
The government had already issued a Level 1 warning for worldwide travel, which calls on Japanese citizens to stay alert. For parts of China, Italy and Spain, the ministry already had a Level 3 alert in place urging that all travel to those destinations be avoided.
