China announces resumption of visas for Japanese

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — China says it’s resuming issuing visas for Japanese travelers beginning Sunday, ending its nearly three-week suspension in an apparent protest of Tokyo’s tougher COVID-19 entry requirements for Lunar New Year tourists from China. Japan cited soaring infections in China after it abruptly eased coronavirus restrictions as well as scarce COVID-19 data from Beijing. China also stopped issuing visas to South Koreans after South Korea  in early January did the same for short-term travelers from China. Health authorities in China have said infections have peaked but there are concerns abroad that Beijing was not sharing enough data.